Democracy is Best

Clive James wrote a series of articles in BBC Magazine in which he stressed the advantages of democracy over other forms of government. In Bowing to a Higher Authority http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8073863.stm James uses the Oxford Poetry scandal as a platform to further discuss democracy. James says, “Despite its drawbacks, democracy is the right system for running a country - it just doesn't stack up as the best way of choosing a poetry professor.”

James looks to Philosopher Karl Popper and Albert Camus to define democracy. According to Popper democracy is a government that can be changed at the whim of the people. This is not to say that people have to be informed or wise, only that they want change and have the ability to make it happen. Which is why James adds Albert Camus’s views of democracy as a form of society created by and maintained by those who know they don't know everything, but they do know when government change or reform is needed.

James makes an interesting point about popular elections which are essential to democracy and the role of government in the private sector. “We don't have popular elections to a medical board. We ought to have government oversight of a medical board through the people's representatives, but a popular election in every field would be government by plebiscite and would produce more injustice than it avoided. Within a properly constituted democracy there is room for all kinds of alternatives as long as they are enlightened. “

What struck me most when reading this was one of the other featured articles on the BBC website that same day. There was a story about the 20th anniversary of the Tiannamen square riots in China. The number of people killed in their fight for democracy 20 years ago is still unconfirmed and estimated to be hundreds if not thousands. In the clip below you hear current day protestors talking about how 20 years later they are still fighting for democracy. The Chinese people want democracy and many have been willing to give up their lives for it. I think it is safe to say that the protesters 20 years ago and today would agree with James’s view that democracy is best.
Jen S