3 Prerequisites for Democracy

Democracy needs more than elections.

Shrii P. R. Sarkar names three prerequisites without which democracy easily becomes a farce: education, ethics, and an alert social, economic and political consciousness.

Education that is more than the transfer of data

Popular education is, for Sarkar, a basic condition.

Education means adequate knowledge and the power to grasp connections.

It should clarify who I am and what I ought to do.

Literacy alone is not enough. Reading without judgement still lets us follow a misleading voice.

In Germany literacy is high. The real question is: do we have enough judgement for rents, war and peace, education and the economy?

Can we read programmes and weigh consequences?

Education in this sense means examining connections rather than only repeating slogans.

Ethics in the majority

Ethics is the second basic factor. Sarkar writes clearly: where the majority tolerates corruption or sells votes, unethical representatives are elected.

Democracy needs more than half the population to take ethical principles seriously. Members of parliament come from the population. If ethical action is weak there, representation becomes weak.

Today that means concretely: honesty in public speech, selflessness instead of power calculation, responsibility for the common good.

Social, economic and political consciousness

Even educated people can be led astray by shrewd politicians if they do not know social, economic and political questions. Sarkar calls this threefold consciousness indispensable. Without it the welfare of society is possible neither in theory nor in practice.

Thirdly, a social, economic and political consciousness is also indispensable for the success of democracy. Even educated people can be led astray by crafty and shrewd politicians if they are not sufficiently acquainted with social, economic and political matters.

Democracy can succeed only when people internalise these three kinds of consciousness. Without this consciousness the welfare of society is possible neither in theory nor in practice. Intellectuals must therefore never promote unrealistic ideas of this kind.

– Shrii P. R. Sarkar: A Few Problems Solved Part 2

In practice, consciousness means understanding who benefits from which decisions; checking whether housing, education and security remain accessible for many; recognising when war rhetoric crowds out peace.

It also means not celebrating unrealistic promises merely because they sound good.

What we can do

I am convinced: it is possible. We can practise education as judgement, demand ethics in everyday life and in politics, and continue to educate ourselves on social, economic and political questions.

MENSCHLICHE WELT invites us to help shape politics honestly, reasonably and selflessly.