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In ancient Greece, the famous philosophers Plato and Aristotle were not fond of democracy as they were afraid of demagogues who could manipulate gullible people to buy their nefarious designs. Instead, they emphasized virtue and wisdom. Plato envisioned philosopher king – the modern-day equivalent of stateman – who after long years of training take the charge of the state. As ensconced in wisdom, and free from human vices of attachment and corruption, they could seldom commit mistake. Plato’s disciple, Aristotle, called politics ‘noble profession’. For him, it was a noble duty of citizens to take part in politics and be involved in community affairs. Both thought wisdom and virtue should be guiding principles of governance, rather than vote count or popular support – the key element of modern democratic government.
It is not that democratic government is the worst form of government. Winston Churchill admitted that democratic form of government may not be the best form of government. But, it is certainly better than authoritarian or totalitarian governments. But democratic government functions best when it is led by enlightened leaders and enlightened citizenry. When a citizen is not educated, he or she can be easily swayed by populist leaders, and that is why the Greek philosophers hated democracy as it could turn majority against minority or evolve into a government where numbers or quantity dominates quality or virtue or wisdom. At the very worst, as we see today, democratic governments have often turned towards the policy of divide and rule, pitting one community against other to win more votes, engaging in religious or racist rhetoric.
Another major concern that needs to be addressed as democracies degenerate is undermining of human values and transformation of human beings as machines or means. When politics becomes might is right and means supersede ends, and human beings are counted as numbers, it leads to a moral vacuum. Immanuel Kant raised this concern and argued that human dignity and moral duty are major ingredients in any humane society and for permanent peace these elements must be cultivated. When individuals are stripped of their dignity or moral component, when human beings are excluded from the moral world, they could be treated as objects or things and easily made subject of violence and repression. One classic example of this moral exclusion was Nazi rule in Germany before the Second World War. While Nazism as a system of government is long dead and gone, its traces are still found or are reemerging in various parts of the world.
One of the core elements of democracy is dialogue. This is certainly waning. The principle – I agree to disagree – guides democracy, but it appears it is slowly going away. My way or highway seems to be the modern-day norm of democracy. The use of words in political debates certainly invokes pessimism and despair. Political leaders lose decency and use all kinds of words in public, whether in legislatures or other public forums. There are instances how politicians openly denigrate women, watch pornography in legislature, and use vile words against detractors. It seems politics has become the worst theatre, and everybody is naked in this game. And such a scenario makes alive the concerns of the Greek thinkers about the downsides of democracy. Watching television debates looks like watching melodrama. As most media houses do not hide their love or hate for political parties, the media debates look like harangue, in which debaters come with closed minds. There are certainly exceptions to this normal trend, and there are still politicians who follow moral principles, but they are a few. It will not be an exaggeration to call them endangered species.
One of the major reasons why politics has descended to such lowly chaos is the preference of immediate or short-term gains over long term gains or visions. If as a politician my goal is to win the upcoming election by hook or by crook, I do not care about what people say about strategies I adopt, or it does not matter if I flout moral norms or legal principles as everything is fair if I win the election. This gives rise to the oft quoted statement – everything is fair in politics. This approach to politics is centered on a zero-sum game. Current politicians, in general, do not worry about their long-term legacy. Hence, we do not have state leaders like George H. Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev who decided to end the Cold War without firing a shot. During early years of independence there were differences between political leaders, but none of them used foul language against each other. Without going into the political ideologies of those leaders, it will be sufficient here to argue that these leaders valued civility and morality in politics.
I conclude with the following few lines from Sri Aurobindo’s Savitri that poetically amplify the ‘vileness’ in politics.
“All on one plan was shaped and standardised
Under a dark dictatorship’s breathless weight.
In street and house, in councils and in courts
Beings he met who looked like living men
And climbed in speech upon high wings of thought
But harboured all that is subhuman, vile
And lower than the lowest reptile’s crawl.
The reason meant for nearness to the gods
And uplift to heavenly scale by the touch of mind
Only enhanced by its enlightening ray
Their inborn nature’s wry monstrosity.”
I wish that in the New Year politics become more civil and peaceful.
(Another version of this article was published in Times of India Blogs on January 5, 2022)
