On democracy

Democracy isn’t about the winners. It is about the losers, and the sacrifices they will have to make for the sake of the will of the majority. It is about negotiation – About priorities, bartering, opportunity cost – all for the sake of pushing the world one step forward. It seeks to establish common ground, that is, the reason why campaigns are held is to establish what the will of the people is, and how best it will be exercised. The more people participate in the process, and the better the representation of minorities amongst these people, the better the quality of the elected person’s policies will be because the first task of an elected public official is to unite an electorate that has been greatly divided by campaign season.

Democracy works.

I believe in democracy.

I believe in democracy because done right, it provides an opportunity for everyone to be heard. Elections, I believe, should not seek to marginalize one group of people and favour the other. Elections seek to select a candidate with whom the least trade-offs will need to be made – By extension, this means that the greatest number of people will reach some semblance of happiness. The direction in which the municipality, the city, the country, the region and in many ways, the world progresses is contingent on just how much the elected candidate is willing to compromise.

A few days ago, Joe Biden was called as the winner of the 2020 Presidential Election and necessarily, President-elect of the United States. A few more days back, John Magufuli was elected President of Tanzania. In April, Lazarus Chakwera was also called to lead the Malawian people. Zoran Milanovic of Croatia, Katerina Sakellaropoulou of Greece and Luis Arce of Bolivia are also amongst the scores of people who ascended to the posts of Head-of-State and Government in the respective countries.

In a world ripped apart by the loss of life to COVID-19, by the loss of an entire year to lockdowns, by protests, by conflict and by crisis after crisis, the task on all these men (and regrettably, one woman’s) hands is the same as it has always been: Uniting people. Because the work can only begin when the people are united.

And right now, the world needs unity and a common mind more than anything else.

This unity comes at a price, however. I didn’t mention this, but the winners also have some serious sacrifices to make. Because to unite the people, one ought to yield to their concerns and requests. Campaign season is an opportunity for all of these to be made clear: In the USA for example, it became apparent as the election progressed that the people’s vote would be contingent on the policies of the two key campaigners in several respects, including the Coronavirus, the Economy and minority rights. It would be a tragedy for any head-of-state to ignore the concerns of the ‘losing’ side because it would nullify the whole point of elections. Those trade-offs, those compromises are going to need to be made, and the middle ground will need to be negotiated.

In the end, however, the people who are left happiest are the majority. They, of course, will not be entirely happy because of the trade-offs made. But to them, the trade-offs they would otherwise have made under a different candidate are far worse. They are satisfied. The losers on the other hand, who, it must be noted, comprise the minority, are not so happy because they have made more losses than gains. They, however, receive the benefit of representation, because at least some of the concerns they have fielded are considered. But in the end, democracy works out because the greatest amount of happiness is created for the greatest number of people.

I believe in democracy. 

You should too.

Sincerely,

Muku