Political dynasties: Democracy or demagoguery?

As we approach the May 2013 Election, I can’t help myself but raise the fundamental question on how we allow ourselves to be governed.

 

If politics is a craft, and to have a craft is to have the expertise of governing, how is it then that those without it get elected to positions of power?

 

Why do we thoughtlessly allow self-serving political clans to monopolize political power even with their inexperienced and unqualified family members?   Why do we have the penchant of electing entertainers without even a modicum of a baccalaureate degree or an iota of educational specialization to serve and represent us in the legislative branch or executive branch of the government? 

 

It is a scary thought to entertain that these are the very realities that characterize our current electoral process, and hence, democratic system.  Is it because they possess the popularity that the multitude is easily drawn into?  Or is it because the multitude is easily misled by propaganda.  There may be other reasons to consider.  

 

But if indeed these are the very standards we use to choose our leaders, I am afraid that we may end up promoting the political ambitions of those who do not have the craft and training, while undermining the chances of those who have them to truly govern us.

 

If this is the case, how then is democracy advanced?  How can it move forward when the preference of the unenlightened dominates over the choice of the enlightened---that is, the multitude that does not have the competence to make judgment about public policies nor understand the complexities of governmental functions making the collective decision for the rest of the population? 

 

I think the philosopher Plato has an interesting insight when he talked of the possibility that a just system of government can be had if ruled by a philosopher king. 

 

Why a philosopher king?   

 

Well, it is for the simple reason that for Plato governing is like navigating the proverbial ship around.  As a navigator, he or she must possess the craft of specialized skills and training to direct the ship’s course.  The ship’s navigation cannot be simply entrusted to sailors and crews whose seafaring knowledge is limited and lacking. 

 

In other words, the leadership of the local government and national government must be guided by experts who have the vision and competence and not by pretenders who depend on their popularity and personal appeal.  There is the danger that a system of government that relies with the latter qualities may end up being demagogic rather than democratic.

 

I don’t want to be misunderstood.  I am not espousing an elitist idea of governance because I still believe that in a democratic system, majority rules.   However I believe that for our system of government to be truly democratic, it must require at a minimum, a reasoned and oppositional public debate between opposing candidates during the electoral process. 

 

Why the debate? 

 

Because there is no other way that the citizenry can be spared from the corrupting influence of money and the ruthless distortion it generates via advertising hype and political sound-bite.  Without the debate, there’s nothing left for the citizenry to educate themselves about the candidate’s qualification and competence, short of populism and illusion created by glib spin-doctors.

 

Thus, in a truly democratic system, it must be incumbent upon every candidate to inform and enlighten the citizenry in a public debate about policy issues.

 

Unfortunately, this is what many candidates are trying not to do.  They’d rather avoid it, by all means.  As the senatorial candidate Nancy Binay wryly puts it “Not now” and “Let’s win the Senate race first, then we can debate on the Senate floor” when challenged to a debate by another senatorial candidate Risa Hontiveros.

 

The reply may be quick and clever but an unfortunate one.  It’s unfortunate because now, we won’t have a chance to really gauge the candidate’s qualification to run as a senator. 

 

There is no doubt that as the daughter of a well-to-do and dynasty-promoting Vice-President of the Philippines, she is now a well-known political candidate, just like her younger sister, and her younger brother.  And all that, is by virtue of filial association. 

 

Thanks to her Dad. 

 

But then, the same thing can be said of other political candidates who simply ingratiate themselves with their family’s name, popularity, and political war chest.

 

And the demagoguery continues.