Lucas Papademos is the new Greek prime minister. He is also the former vice-president of the European Central Bank. A man who would possibly do anything to ensure that Greece remains in the Eurozone, despite public outcry. In Italy, Berlusconi is replaced by an ex-EU Commissioner named Mario Monti. Monti will lead the next government, just after the parliament forced severe welfare cuts on the Italian people.
In neither case have the people been given a choice over policy decisions. No democratic vote has been called, and public opposition outside the halls of parliament has been ignored.
If you are familiar with the work of the International Monetary Fund, these practices should not come as a surprise. So-called “structural adjustment” programmes in various “developing” nations have relied on the transfer of economic power from the state to private institutions. Often, these institutions have no interest in the welfare of the people and are either own by the families of the ruling elites or by external corporations. Yet according to IMF policy, these developments ought to be welcomed. Miraculously, it seems, they will lead to prosperity and growth even as developing nations lack the necessary foundations or the market infrastructure that would be necessary to sustain neoliberal pipedreams.
The political fallout of the transfer of power and responsibility is enormous. When election time comes around, the government lacks power to ensure that roads will be fixed or that water will be reasonably priced. Even if the people voted against the government, the problems would not be fixed as the ability to provide basic needs has been transferred to the private sector.
We are told that as long as elections are held, a democracy is securely in place. In the West, we are even willing to fight for those democracies – and die for them, too. How many have given their lives so that elections can be held in Iraq and Afghanistan? The question is: Is that what democracy looks like?
Take Britain as an example. Within our narrow understanding of democracy, voters have the choice between a bad party and one that is even worse. We no longer vote for policies or principles, but for political spin. And regardless of what ideas we find persuasive during electoral campaigns, there is no guarantee that the government will stick to its proclaimed principles and fight for the right policies. We saw that very clearly in the case of Liberal Democrats in England. Scores of students had voted for their promise of free tuition, only to see the party abandon its electoral mandate when Cameron pressed for rising fees. Words are just words in an electoral campaign – and voting for them just makes you a fool. Did you actually think that someone would cede power to you, the voter?
The People have no voice in our democracy anymore. Elections have become nothing but a collective ritual that allow us to feel like political agents and sovereign people. The real decisions are made by people in suits, by the companies that can throw the most extravagant parties with the most famous celebrities, by the money barons who can blackmail you with wiretapped phones and lie their way out of it by passing on the blame to their underlings.
Democracy is dead. Democracy remains dead. And we have killed it. We must abandon the idea that the current political system will yield radical solutions and help us climb out of economic crisis. Unless we can enact fundamental change on a political level, this democracy remains democratic in name only.
Of those gathered in cities in around the world, we are the privileged few that can afford to spend our time in spaces discussing where we are going. We are the privileged few who have access to food and water, who had the opportunity to grow up without dying of perfectly curable diseases or mass starvation. We are the privileged few who can fight a battle that needs to be won. Because of our privileged position, we have a responsibility to ensure that the majority of that 99% is no longer oppressed by the 1%. And we also have to ensure that those who are worse off do not suffer because of our actions. Remember: We are still part of the system. But the time has come to stage a jailbreak.
What is the first step towards a fairer world and a more representative democracy? We have to allow ourselves to dream about it. And then we have to be ready to act it. We need to collect visions, hopes, dreams and convert them into reality. We need to tackle the true causes of economic injustice: globalisation, class, racism, sexism, class etc.
Democracy is dead. But a brighter future is possible.
By Nishma Doshi