Democracy has always been at the heart of American politics, so it’s quite natural for Americans to assume democracy is the best form of government. Even though the current political landscape has many desiring change, most people would agree democracy isn’t the problem. However, even if America had an ideal democracy, I still believe there are inherent problems that make democracy a problematic form of government.
At first glance, it seems fair and logical to elect representatives based on a majority vote; this is an easy way to ensure contentment for a large portion of the population. But if majority wins, what happens to the minority? As far as I can see, there is no reason why those who don’t agree with the majority shouldn’t be equally represented.
Therefore, it should be no surprise that minorities are often ignored in democracy; from racial minorities to transgenders, improving the lives of minorities is never a primary goal. This doesn’t mean that what helps the majority hurts minorities, but priorities in democracy will always favor those who belong to the majority.
Then when we consider gerrymandering, the electoral college, and the fact that Election Day isn’t a national holiday, our political “democracy” favors and has always favored straight, white cis-males. But even if our system was a fair democracy, it’s still hard to tell how much progress would be made for the minorities of America.
Now, it’s not like everyone in the majority is selfish and only cares about their needs, but needless to say, there are plenty of people who vote based upon their own interests. And even if people didn’t vote for self-benefit, that doesn’t mean they exactly know what candidate is the better option for everyone. For example, I’m sure they’re plenty of people who voted for Trump who believed he would help every American regardless of race, gender, class, etc.
Which leads to my second major problem with democracy, that just because people have a say, doesn’t mean they have the knowledge to vote for the best candidate. I do not mean to imply people are just stupid, but it’s almost impossible for the average citizen to know everything that goes into politics: foreign affairs, domestic economics, healthcare, taxes, social programs, environmental issues, etc.--the list could go on forever.
But this begs the question what form of government would create a better America that benefits everyone as much as possible. To take power away from the people and give it to a few makes it that much easier to abuse this power. Is it really a good idea only a select few make all the political decisions?
And my personal belief is that, in an ideal world, yes, it would be best to leave all decisions to a select few of experts. But I want to stress experts because, in all honesty, I don’t know what exactly a politician is good at. Based on this recent election, it would appear a good politician is someone who is as absurd as possible and has a lot of money and inequities.
So no, I don’t want politicians running the government. I want biomedical engineers and doctors working on health care, I want scientists and environmentalists leading the EPA, I want teachers and child psychiatrists making decisions on education, etc.
This may seem rather utopian, but nonetheless it’s clear in our current democracy people are getting elected that do not care about improving the lives of every American. There are so many intelligent people who could help run our government who would actually care about doing what’s right for the greater good.
This ideal government may be impossible to achieve, but unless we can find a way to improve our current democracy, I don’t see why we shouldn’t strive to achieve a better form of government.