Compromising Democracy

Is the US democracy "election" or "selection" democracy? Here is the truth!

One of the things I highlighted in my 2010 book Subverting Capitalism and Democracy was the scuttling of the democratic process. I called it “selection, not election”. Here is what I wrote:

The political leadership selection process has morphed. Currently we expect political parties to create the necessary infrastructure to identify, groom and field the right people. Naturally, political parties prefer candidates who can generate more contributions. The larger donors get to make the choice. Thus, by design, candidates are well connected to the sponsors. Voters are left with essentially non‐options. Today, it is more “selecting” a person who most closely resembles our views and concerns. The current system imposes its will by pre‐selecting the options from which people make a choice. It was supposed to entail “electing” a person amongst us to represent our views and concerns.

There is substantial difference between the election and selection ideologies. This difference, to my mind, is the chief reason why politicians cannot identify with the people they represent.

It implies that priorities of the politicians are different from those of people they represent. This is not an ideal democracy. We need an “election” process that is different. We need to break this process and replace it with something more palatable.

A ground‐up “selection” process is embedded within the organisation structure of political parties. If we are to reform the system, reform of political parties is a must.

Larry Lessig highlighted that issue in great detail in a very smart presentation. Every few months, I come back to it. Everyone should watch it every few months, particularly during a political discussion.

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