Terry Bell writes from South Africa: The challenge of real democracy
The political elite elected ostensibly to represent the majority, is effectively — and often all too obviously - under the influence, if not direct control, of elements of the monied minority. It is a classic case of who pays the piper invariably calling the tune. If the “tune” - the policies and decisions affecting the majority -is not under the control of the majority, then the system is not democratic. At best it should be regarded as a flawed form of of democracy.
So how did this come about? South Africa’s colonial history, linked and
influenced in large part by avaricious British imperialism and the so-called
“Mother of Parliaments” in Westminster, provides an ethnically distorted
example that is as good as any. As in Britain, all literate men of property
initially qualified for the vote on a common voters’ roll, subsequently skewed
on an ethnic/racial basis.
In 1930, in the wake of an international women’s suffrage movement, women
classified “white” were granted the vote and in 1931, this was granted to all
adults classified “white”. Five years later, the more than 10,000 black African
voters who still qualified to be on the common roll were removed, and, in 1956,
“coloured” voters followed suit, giving rise to the Black Sash human rights
group. South Africa then became a fully racially exclusive parliamentary
“democracy”.
We should all be aware of this history as we consider the system we have adopted
and why, in common with so many other countries, including the USA, there is
such social polarisation. In this regard it would be worth thinking about how
more than 70 million, mainly working class citizens, voted for the misogynist
billionaire, Donald Trump, a serial liar…
https://terrybellwrites.com/2020/11/14/the-challenge-of-real-democracy/
