An introduction to ‘Democracy’
Blog #1: Liberal Democracy
Democracy has been a highly contested concept because of its complexity. Numerous debates or arguments are being done through the years to come up with a single definition but still, there is no definite notion to it. But despite its abstractness, the concept of ‘democracy’ gave people an idea to ponder on and eventually drew various certain perspectives about it.
Since there are differences between our political outlooks towards democracy, it created distinct problems to keep an eye out for. And I would like to emphasize how democracy becomes the arena for the assertion of conflicting interests. These endless debates/discussions produced barriers in fixing what should the government prioritize first or what issue needed to be addressed immediately. It constructed different confusions that lead to an inefficient and paralyzed government. For instance, ever since the pandemic started, it seems our Philippine government doesn’t have the sense of urgency in controlling the rise of COVID cases each day — and instead of aiming for prompting herd immunity, they divert their attention in pursuing selfish pursuits like passing the anti-terror law, turning Manila Bay’s natural sand into artificial white sand, shutting down one of the biggest network companies, etc. These events only exhibit how a conflict of interest works in a democratic society. Various groups and individuals are being considered before making the final call. And it appeared, these recent government decisions really involved different interests — interests that are mostly from their political agendas.
Another key problem that surrounds democracy, specifically in the theory of ‘liberal democracy’ is regarding the participation of the citizens in the political arena. Is it really necessary for a democratic ruling government to rather have only a mere representation and not a direct participatory? To reiterate what I've said in the discussion board, it is really crucial if we fully focus on either direct or mere representation because for one, even if people exercise their rights to speak their own sentiments — there is a possible chance that their statements effectuate to prejudices. The same goes for having only a representative democracy; the vulnerability of politicians to do dirty works for the sake of their own agendas.
These aforementioned issues entailing democracy are only just a start on what knowledge can the theories of democracies can bring out. And I am looking forward to discussing more as we move forward in the next lessons.
References:
Harris, J (2017). The populist challenge to liberal democracy. Retrieved from https://www.brookings.edu/research/the-populist-challenge-to-liberal-democracy/
Touraine, A (n.d.). What is democracy? Retrieved from https://en.unesco.org/courier/novembre-1992/what-democracy
Agpalo, R. (1976). In Defense of Filipino Liberal Democracy. Retrieved from https://brill.com/view/journals/ppsj/3/1/article-p140_15.xml