The abandonment of democracy

In our history books we have studied how economic crises and abandoning democratic principles go hand in hand. It is fascinating and frightening to see, currently, how this mechanism is being set in motion.

Originally, democracy was the sovereignty of the will of the people. The people are free to decide and join forces to defend the common good by majority vote. But now there appears to be a footnote: the people may be wrong. Mistaken. EU Commissioner De Gucht raises the question in an interview with the Belgian Standaard: Greece remaining in the Euro-zone will only be possible "if the Greek people will be able to judge rationally in their elections. But they are desperate people... " (De Standaard).

If economic austerity is the only rational thing to do, why do we still have to vote? And why do people fail to see what is good for them? Is there an institution which prevails over democracy and which may judge what is rational and what is not?

And what can we do if the people give the wrong answer?

Politics as a profession

We may assume that many people are active in politics because of their convictions. On the other hand, it is not unthinkable that the work of politicians can be seen as a profession with attractive social and financial advantages. If this is the case for some, then it would not be hard to figure out the wisest political career planning: this is, obviously, in mainstream politics, either by obtaining a position in a political party that will hold power for the years to come, or if we have a political alternation by joining the party which is likely to replace the power party. In view of mobility, the latter option is probably even better.

Where will we find most corrupt activity? Political parties do not advocate corruption. Corruption may be linked to an attitude towards political power rather than to political convictions. Criminal activities will obviously be planned in an environment where their probability of success is greatest. This relation is illustrated by this map of political corruption in Spain: