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Also, even if it was a real democracy, it would not necessarily be an ideal system. There's a problem of "tyranny by The Majority".
But the specific Myth I'm going on about here is the idea that a "Parliamentary Democracy" or something like that is in some way a real democracy.
Politicians, once they've been elected, are seen preaching that they are doing the will of the people. It is this, the idea that what ends up being done is somehow what the people want, that is the MYTH!
What happens is that in an election, there are a limited number of candidates, and you have no choice but to vote for one or other of them. (There's another misconception that somehow it's fair because any person can stand for election. This is nonsense as they'd have no chance of getting in because the whole system is hopelessly rigged in favour of a few mainstream parties).
So, a particular political faction gets elected, usually because there is only one other choice and they are considered to be even worse! The problem is that then they have the gall to claim that people wanted them to be there! And, that any policies they happen to devise are somehow the will of the people. This is the ultimate in political pompous deception. You can see them saying: "Well, YOU voted for us, so now we can do anything we want, and it's YOUR fault!"
I have heard people say "Don't vote! It'll only encourage them!". However, it generally won't make any difference whether you vote or not, as the inevitable result will be that some political party or other gets elected and will then impose their will on the people. Even if you can't stop that happening, it's important to avoid being fooled into thinking it's democratic, when in fact it is more like a pseudo-democratically biased lottery for the appointment of a quasi-oligarchic tyrannical clique.
As regards the terminology, just by calling it "democratic" on the label doesn't mean we have to believe it. We might as well suppose the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the German Democratic Republic are "democratic". Just because UK politicians boastfully claim "The UK is a Parliamentary Democracy" it doesn't mean it's democratic at all. The UK is about as democratic as a pork sausage. Similarly in the US there is much banging-on about "free and fair elections". Who are they trying to fool? Americans aren't daft you know. Politicians might assume they are, but they'll sooner or later come a cropper!
What if there really was a democracy?! Real Democracy in effect:
Even if it was a real democracy, it would not necessarily be an ideal system. There's a problem of "tyranny by The Majority". Although many supposedly democratic countries aren't really democratic, it could be that at some time in the future, people won't put up with politicians anymore and there will be a REAL DEMOCRACY.
Whilst some people assume this would be an ideal society of an Athenian Dream, there are a few things which might make it not so ideal, especially to start with.
People have lived under the iron rule of supposedly democratic regimes for so long and become so weary of the ranting of politicians that they have lost the ability to have good judgement themselves. However, if democracy was declared tomorrow, within ten years people would have learnt to be reasonable.
At the hands of the rule of the true majority, ignorance would prevail, at least to start with. For example paediatricians would have a hard time. Various rash and regrettable rules would be enacted, but later found to be at fault. Some traffic offences might incur the death penalty, and it would be tricky to pardon the convicted after sentence had been carried out. Minorities would suffer. Life would not be easy in a true democracy.
However there is a philosophical position believed by many people, which is that the majority has a fundamental right to rule.
To what extent the true will of the people would make a mess of ruling, and to what extent the people would learn and make wiser decisions as time went on, we could only find out if it happened. Ultimately we may find out, as true democracy may actually happen. It may happen in time, as people gain more power by the Internet and realise how easy it would be to overthrow governments.
Retrospectively, the era of the late 20th and early 21st Century, when people allowed themselves to be ruled over by politicians who were believed to have been "voted for", may seem as daft as earlier notions of "the divine right of kings" were considered to be.
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In America, the dominating influence of wealthy special interests in the funding of campaigns has eroded public trust in our political system and discouraged political participation. In a system that gives undue access to lawmakers and influence on legislation to those who contribute large amounts to campaigns, most citizens believe their voice is not being heard. On a whole range of issues - environment, healthcare, taxes - we see corporations and wealthy individuals benefiting at the expense of all Americans.
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Democracy is kind of a joke without good citizens and good citizens are hard to find in this day and age. Good citizens don’t grow on trees; they grow in families who model good citizenship. If our children are the future, they must learn to shape it. We can’t expect civics class to do it if we won’t. We’re the ones they’re watching.
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