A Good Editorial on Democracy

[hhfarang]

I think this is a good editorial on Democracy in general as well as in Thailand. Funny thing is, it applies to my own country too, but in reverse order. People there used to vote and be politically active with a goal towards what was good for the country; now being a mature Democracy, so to speak, it seems to be more like Thailand's fledgling Democracy where people vote or are politically active only for selfish and greedy reasons. They say life is a circle where you start out depending on others, then learn to support yourself, and end up like a child again being taken care of by others in the end. Maybe Democracies are like that too. Thailand's is struggling in it's infancy while the one where I come from has reached the point past maturity where everyone wants to be taken care of (like and infant) by the government. Anyway, those were my thoughts, here's the editorial on Thailand's Democracy:

Thailand's road to democracy: Greed is the obstacle
By The Nation

A mature democratic society will only be built when voters put public interest above personal gain

What is the most important component of a democratic society? Different people will have different answers. But it is undeniable that a key component is citizens with democratic minds who put the public interest above personal benefits offered by scheming and selfish politicians.

These citizens do not need to be highly educated or affluent, but they must be open-minded, tolerant about differing political views, and sufficiently informed about current affairs, in order that they can decide without bias what is good or bad for the country.

Looking abroad, you will discover that countries with higher democratic development than Thailand's have a great number of quality citizens who tend not to support any acts by any group of people that go against the national interest or could weaken the country's stability. Certainly, these people are not easily lured or hired into committing such acts themselves.

It is true that not all citizens in democratically developed countries meet those standards, but most of them do. That explains why their democracies are more stable than ours.

Look at our country and you will see the difference. Many people in Thailand can still be bought, and they value their short-term benefits over the country's long-term interest. Greed seems to be a major compass for their direction in life.

Many Thai voters base their decisions on the financial or material benefits offered to them. In the past, cash was handed directly to voters but today the vote buying is more discreet - the money is transferred through ATMs. Many people are also influenced by campaign promises of populist policies involving handsome handouts.

The trick always works in this country, where voters often choose what is best for them rather than for their country.

The point is that it does not matter how we describe our country's political system - whether we call it a fully-fledged democracy, partly democratic, a military dictatorship, authoritarian rule, a system dominated by money politics, or whatever. What matters is rather what it actually is.

We may be unable to gain a clear view of our society for several reasons - political bias, poor analytical ability, blind patriotic sentiment, or pure ignorance.

A pessimistic view says Thailand's democracy - once a poster-boy and regional leader in terms of democratic development - is going downhill, with severe social division and unending political conflict. Pessimistic observers do not expect the situation to improve in the aftermath of July 3's general election.

An optimistic view sees all the confusion, confrontation and crisis - as well as violence - as part of a transitional period for Thailand as it progresses towards a higher level of democratic development. Optimistic observers, including former prime minister Anand Panyarachun in his recent interview with the BBC, note that most - if not all - countries with a mature democracy have had to experience a tumultuous period like Thailand's some time during their long political history. In some of those countries, severe social conflicts led to a civil war.

Thailand so far has managed to avoid the eruption of a large-scale armed conflict, and the country is recovering quite well from last year's violent turmoil, which left 91 people dead and some 2,000 others injured. Some observers attribute the fast recovery to the resilience of Thai society while others jokingly note that Thais tend to forget easily.

The political unrest over recent years should be treated as a lesson for our society - a mistake that we should not repeat in the future if we want to grow up to become a mature democracy.

If we want our country to be a real democracy, we have to act as citizens of a real democracy and we need to teach our children to do the same.

In a real democracy, citizens do not just go to the polls when there is an election, or take to the streets when there is a cause to support. They tolerate minority views. They respect the rights of fellow citizens. They denounce mob rule and political intimidation. They value the system's survival rather than that of an individual or a certain group of people.

If a mature democracy is our goal, we the people should begin today by stopping any acts or behaviour that go against democratic principles, and instead promote the positive values that will lead us to that end.


-- The Nation 2011-07-19