We fought for Democracy and lost to Bureaucracy

Part One

My brain used to be my filing cabinet. Now it is so full that I can’t even open it.

So, I’ve resorted to note books. There is at least one book in every room of the house. I’d like to think that I record insightful gems there, but the truth is they are mainly unintelligible snippets that would defy interpretation by the most brilliant of cryptologists. But I’m a compulsive list maker. Lists give me a sense of order, and sometimes, of inspiration.

One such list is Oxymorons. I add to it almost every day. They are such fun: contradictions in terms, accepted unthinkingly. For example:

Public Servants: No, they’re definitely not servants.

United Nations: They’ve never been united about anything.

Mainstream Media: Mainstream? They speak only to a small and shrinking minority.

Great Britain: Who is kidding who?

Another of my favourite lists is Stolen Words. These are words whose meanings we used to have confidence in understanding, but have been flipped by segments of society so that they now have different, or even opposite, meanings. Here are some:

Gay: It used to mean having a jolly good time.

Elites: They were once the best examples of leadership, not the worst.

Progressives: Once in favour of progress, now progressively intolerant of others’ ideas.

My list already runs to many pages, but here are three that are worth examining.

Let’s start with you describing yourself as Liberal. Do you mean you believe it is important to allow men who wear lipstick to use the changing rooms and lavatories of young girls — or do you mean you find Ricky Gervais very funny and you support Free Trade?

Perhaps you see yourself as being on the Far Left or the Far Right, or is it only other people who fall into those categories? For, the further left you are, the further away will the centrist and conservative views appear to be of those you deem to be Far Right. And, of course, the reverse applies. This is political myopia, an example of strained vision; which is what the Mainstream Media seems to suffer from.

One of my favourites is Racism (though Anti-Racism probably belongs in the Oxymoron list). When you level the Racist charge against me, it is not to describe me, but to silence me. Not because of my evident prejudice, but because I disagree with you and you have insufficient faith in your views to defend them. It is the most frequently used ad hominem of the Maori Party, whose election is based solely on race.

However, there is one word that leaps out at me and disturbs me, so that I am becoming intimidated about using it. That word is Democracy: “The powers of the state being vested in the people equally through elected representation involving universal suffrage.” It’s a word that’s mostly venerated in western societies and despised by the rest. But something is happening to it which I will come to in a minute. First though, let’s rattle off a few cynical quotes, just to get them out of the way.

“Democracy is the recurrent suspicion that more than half of the people are right more than half of the time.”(E.B. White)

“Under universal suffrage the elected are those who know best how to take in the masses.” (Enrico Malatesa, 1891)

“The people who cast the votes decide nothing. The people who count the votes decide everything.” (Joseph Stalin)

... and my favourite ...

“Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it good and hard.” (H.L Mencken).

Okay, we know Democracy has got its faults, but we still use it unquestioningly to describe our ideological bottom line. Or do we?

I’ve been reading the Economist Intelligence Unit 2024 Democracy Index¹. It’s 98 pages long and it’s sub-titled “What’s wrong with Representative Democracy?” The answer is that there is a lot that’s wrong. This won’t surprise you, but it’s useful to understand what’s going on.

· Only 25 countries are considered “full democracies” (described below)

· 46 countries are classified as “flawed democracies” (described below”)

· The balance of 96 countries are authoritarian, hybrid, or failed states

· Only 7.8% of the world’s population reside in “full democracies”

A 2020 survey by The Center for the Future of Democracy at Cambridge University found that since 2005 dissatisfaction with democracy had risen by 18.8 points globally to 57.5%.

The Gallup 2024 survey found that trust in the US Congress was at 35%, down from 75% in the 1970s, and the 2024 Pew Research Center found that 42% of respondents said no political party represented their views. 32% of Americans aged 18 - 29 believe non-democracies can be preferable to democracy.

So, when we say Democracy are we talking about the same thing?

Full Democracies are described as having:

· Civil liberties and political freedoms respected and reinforced by a supportive political culture.

· A robust system of governmental checks and balances.

· An independent judiciary whose decisions are enforced.

· Governments that function adequately.

· Diverse and independent media.

· Limited problems in democratic functioning

Flawed Democracies are described as having:

· Elections that are generally fair and free, and basic civil liberties honoured.

· Issues such as media freedom infringement and minor suppression of political opposition and critics.

· Significant faults in other democratic aspects, including: Underdeveloped political culture; Low levels of participation in politics; Issues in the functioning of governance.

· Public trust in the judiciary’s impartiality may be lower compared to full democracies.

Now, here’s why I am writing about this and having trouble holding myself back. You see, the Economist 2024 Democracy Index lists all the world’s countries on a table from 1 to 167 from best to worst in terms of democratic rating and New Zealand is Rated Number 2.

The United States (under Joe Biden and the Democrats in 2023/24) is rated at Number 28 and is in the category of a Flawed Democracy. The United Kingdom is rated Number 17.

What the hell is going on? How can New Zealand be the second best Full Democracy in the world when we all know that:

· New Zealand has a political party in Parliament based solely on race.

· New Zealand has unelected representatives, with voting powers, on multiple local and regional councils, industry associations and education authorities.

· Voter turnout in local elections is only 36%.

· New Zealand has a politicised judiciary that has clearly stated it sets the laws, not the elected parliament.

· New Zealand has censorship of the media and active suppression of critics of Government policy (as witness science and health).

· Civil liberties in New Zealand are regularly and ruthlessly denied, as witness Covid regulations, public protests, and free speech.

· The government funds media outlets on condition of them promoting government views and suppressing alternative views, and

· Government departments funnel state funds to special interest groups through hidden accounts that are not subject to scrutiny or audit.

At the very best New Zealand is a Flawed Democracy, yet it is rated as a Full Democracy at Number 2. So, what does that say about the rest of western society, and how did we get here?

In Part Two I will examine why we are no longer true democracies, and who really runs our so-called democratic countries.

A.I. Fabler

March 16, 2025

1. https://www.eiu.com/n/campaigns/democracy-index-2024/