February 13, 2013
February 3, 2013
Democracy and socialism
Democracy and socialism
By Francisco Nemenzo
January 31, 2012
Democracy is the most popular word in the vocabulary of politics but also the most brazenly abused.
Since the defeat of fascism in World War II, everybody has become a democrat. Even the neo-Nazis in Germany call themselves the National Democratic Party. Marcos entitled the book preparing us for martial law Today’s Revolution: Democracy. Suharto and Pinochet slaughtered thousands to save democracy. And Pol Pot’s murderous regime was officially named Democratic Kampuchea.
These demonstrate that the absence of a universally accepted definition of “democracy.” The concept is so vague that it can accommodate any regime, any social movement, any political philosophy. On account of its ambiguity, democracy is useless as a tool for analysis but very useful as a tool for demagoguery. By affixing the word “democracy” or “democratic,” even a malevolent cause can be made to look sublime.
Lincoln’s a cute definition of democracy as “a government of the people, by the people, and for the people” leaves open the key question of who comprise “the people.”
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