Democracy does not serve the people (Venue: Online)

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THE VENUE: Online

Whilst we always meet in person, we are trialling an online edition for those who can’tmake the face-to-face events in Cambridge. The zoom link will be visible below to those who have RSVP'd.

Etiquette
Our discussions are friendly and open. We are a discussion group, not a for-and-against debating society. But it helps if we try to stay on topic. And we should not talk over others, interrupt them, or try to dominate the conversation.

We are limiting attendance in order to have an ideal number of 4-5 actual attendees on the day.

THE TOPIC: Democracy does not serve the people

Thank you to Andrew for providing this week's topic.

Socrates said ‘You wouldn’t want a random person to perform surgery, you would choose a trained surgeon, so why then would you allow uninformed masses to decide a civilisation?’

He suggested that giving a vote equally to the uninformed and the educated led to populist politicians who stop speaking the truth, and instead start telling people whatever they want to hear, the easiest solutions win.

Socrates was put to death by the popular vote.

The Democratic Ideal: Rule by the People.

The word democracy comes from ancient Athens, meaning demos (people) + kratos (rule). Democracy is supposed to embody a system where leaders are chosen by citizens, laws reflect majority will, where power can be peacefully removed and rights are protected.

In theory, this does serve the people better than monarchy, dictatorship, or oligarchy because leaders depend on public approval, citizens have a voice and governments can be voted out. If the alternative is authoritarianism, history suggests democracy tends to protect freedoms better, allow peaceful reform and reduce political violence.

This is why modern democracies like the United Kingdom or United States have outperformed authoritarian countries on civil liberties, transparency, and peaceful transitions of power. But democracy can stagnate, become captured by elites, or drift into populism.

The Democratic Reality: It often serves some more than others

Democracy serves the people only indirectly. Real power lies with political party leadership, corporate interests, bureaucratic institutions and media owners. From this view, elections are largely about choosing between competing elites.

Common distortions:

• Influence of wealth: Campaign financing and media ownership can amplify elite voices.
• Bureaucratic inertia: Institutions can resist change even when voters demand it.
• Short-termism: Politicians focus on re-election cycles rather than long-term policy.
• Polarisation: Public opinion may be fragmented or manipulated.

So, in practice, democracies often serve the politically engaged, the economically powerful and the majority over minorities (unless rights are strongly protected).

Elite Theorists like Vilfredo Pareto, Gaetano Mosca and Robert Michels claim that all societies are ruled by elites and that democracy just changes which elite rules; they say that a small organised minority will always dominate a disorganised majority.

Alternatives for the information age, where there is a professional political class and passive voters who are disconnected from the political process:

Sortition (democracy by lottery) as used in ancient Athens.

Instead of electing politicians, randomly select citizens and provide them with expert briefings. Let them deliberate and decide. Modern examples include citizens’ assemblies in:

• Ireland (abortion reform)
• France (climate policy)

Deliberative Democracy as proposed by Jürgen Habermas, where Democracy should focus on reasoned discussion, not just voting and a simple majority rule.

• Citizen juries
• Public deliberation forums
• Consensus conferences

Participatory Democracy, which involves direct citizen decision-making in budgeting and local governance. For example, where in Porto Alegre, citizens directly allocate public funds.