Khilafat Centenary Souvenir 1908-2008 — Page 54
Khilafat Centenary of an election. Other aspects of political inequality may include difficulties faced by the older voters to the polling place or lack of access to complete information by the less privileged class. Similarly, inequality of opportunity can retard an individual's ability to move up or down in the social system. Artificial barriers are often raised by the elite in power against the poor to make it impossible for him to enjoy the fruits of his ability and hard work. It is rather ironic to note that various aspects of equality, which democracy aims to achieve, are inherently opposite to each other. For example, while economic equality pre-supposes that all members of the society should enjoy equal standards of living, equality of opportunity gives free hand to the rich capitalist to exercise the freedom of exploiting the poor. In other words, equality of opportunity is bound to create economic inequality. The second major goal of democracy is considered to be liberty and freedom. ·However, just as absolute equality is repudiated by the advocates of democracy, absolute liberty is also generally rejected. It is argued that, in their ideal form, both are deemed as neither desirable nor achievable. Among the various aspects of democracy, the most extensively discussed is, of course, political democracy although it is just as difficult to define it as social or economic democracy. Of course, inspite of the ambiguities of its definition, it is generally assumed that equality and liberty are the intended fruits of political democracy. However, since absolute equality and total liberty are neither attainable nor desirable, only a certain degree of these two goals may be achievable. Scholars in the field have been engaged in an unending discussion in regards to the exact extent to which these goals should be realistically pursued. Among the various definitions of "political" democracy, one is given by Waltzer as: "Democracy is a political system in which the people or citizenry consent to and are major participants in their governance. " Ranney states that democracy is a form "in which government decisions are ultimately controlled by all the adult members of the society. " Obviously, it is virtually impossible to receive total unanimity of all citizens on all issues, therefore, it is generally agreed that, in democracy, the will of the majority prevails. It is also clear that it is logistically impossible to seek the opinions of all citizens on all issues directly. Therefore, it is already agreed that direct democracy, otherwise known as "pure democracy,'' is impossible to be practiced. It does not exist anywhere in the governmental process of our times. To some degree it was applied in the small city-states of ancient Greek period but it has become increasingly impracticable since then. The only practical way to implement it has been through elected legislatures. The question often raised, however, is in regards to the desirability of leaving the decision-making power in the hands of the usually uninformed, inadequately educated citizens. This issue becomes all the more crucial when it is realized that with the complexities of international affairs, the application of highly advanced technologies and the sophisticated principles of international economies and commerce, decision-making process is already far beyond the ability of the common man. Consequently he depends heavily upon the knowledge fed to him by the authorities holding power. Invariably he is swayed by propaganda, slogans, Madison Avenue selling techniques, image-makers, and emotional appeals. Election campaigns, are, therefore, becoming a complex art, practiced by huge public relations firms and financed by millions of dollars of campaign funds. Representatives are elected much more on the basis of the amount of money spent in the campaigns by the image-making agencies rather than their qualifications and convictions. In today's presidential candidates discourse in the United States, where the difference in the candidates' positions within the two predominant political philosophies (democracy and republicanism) are virtually indiscernible, the electorate will more so rely on being fed information rather than seeking to find the answers themselves. The result very often of this kind of election, of course, is that those legislatures of democracies are filled with oligarchic elite. While the subtleties of government remain beyond the interest, grasp or understanding of ordinary people, those who can spend enormous wealth, either their own or accumulated through campaign funds, take over the control of the system.