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For
several decades already, the democratic process in several large
European countries is unable to realize a number of major objectives of
the society. Moreover, this incapacity undermined the confidence of
citizens in the class of politicians and even worse in the correct
operation of democracy in its traditional form.
Two shortcomings are particular responsible for the
inefficiencies of present democracy :
- The
increase in capital intensity, i.e. in the stock of fixed assets per
person (machines, buildings, infrastructures), lengthened the period of
gestation of many political projects beyond the legislative period. In
other words: Nowadays, the essentially painful effects of a project's
starting period often extent over the current legislature while the
beneficial effects can be expected only during forthcoming
legislatures. Under these conditions, the politician's fear of loosing
the next election is preventing them from really implementing the
necessary reforms.
- The system
of education did not evolve in line with the new requirements resulting
from recent transformations of society. Thus one notes serious gaps in
the education
- of
citizens able and willing to assume their responsibilities and
- of
politicians having the essential capacities for their functions.
Under these conditions, political action too often boil
down to a diversity of ad hoc and/or punctual decisions
- privileging
one or the other corporatist group
- without
adequate taking into account of the general interest in the medium and
long term
- without
correctly using the expertise in the civil services
- without
real coordination (between matters and institutions)
- without
effective implementation or follow up
- without
sufficient co-operation between services concerned and/or
- without
rational use of existing instruments.
They inevitably result in
- unsuited
political structures
- a lack of
transparency of regulations and institutions, accompanied by a
complexity that even experts are unable to master
- an
intolerable length of administrative, legal or juridical procedures
- economic
and social conditions encouraging unproductive or hazardous behavior
defying any good citizenship and followed too often by quasi-impunity.
The maladjustment of the education system has two
important types of deplorable effects:
- Concerning
the civic education of the citizens. It is leading to an insufficient
attention and importance attached to
- a basic
consensus concerning the society and its principles of operation
- macro-economic
analyses of the country and its long-term evolution (ex post and ex
ante)
- the
incidences of the economic and social facts on the general wellbeing in
the medium and long term
- the global
framework of society, in particular of competition
- the
mechanisms of incentives, of allocation and redistribution, including
their means and consequences
- Concerning
the aptitude of politicians. It is leading to
- a severe
lack of competence and credibility (together with politico-financial
scandals)
- an
electoralist behavior (promises which are clearly unrealizable,
incompatible with other commitments or simply broken).
The citizens are disappointed and deceived. They hardly
see a possibility to really influence the course of events. Those who
nevertheless are interested in politics do not find in the offer of
present political parties a coherent project aiming at the general
interest and allowing a long-term effectiveness. To express their
dissatisfaction or even their dislike of politics, many citizens
increasingly resort to one or the other of the following behaviors:
- Abstention
from elections
- Invalid or
protest voting
- Voting for
one or the other party of the opposition without real hope that it will
better act according to the general interest in the long run.
To obtain the majority of votes, the opposition parties
can increasingly limit themselves to simply criticizing the parties in
power without having to present concrete proposals or even a coherent
program. Often the elections only lead to an alternation of political
parties in government even if they already proved - when in power – to
be unable to face the problems left unsolved since long time.
Disappointment over a new government sometimes is
spreading so quickly that the citizens use the first occasion to
express their dissatisfaction, even
- if these
elections are concerning another public authority and
- if
different majorities in several authorities lead almost to their mutual
paralysis.
All these factors compromised a rational management of
public affairs and make impossible an efficient policy aiming at the
general interest in the medium and long term. Since several decades
these unsuited policies are responsible for missing several essential
objectives of society, such as
- a global
consensus on its objectives and means
- a high
level of employment
- keeping
the differences in the distribution of income and wealth in proportions
needed by the function of incentive
- a
satisfactory safety of the citizens
- the
stability of the financial system
- the
maintenance of the environment
- mastering
the ageing process of the population.
The allover result is an important lost progress of
general wellbeing in the long run.
If major reforms of our behavior, procedures and
institutions do not intervene in short time, the danger increases that
the failures in the operation of our democratic system will lead to
unfortunate developments much more harmful than the current failures or
even incompatible with the free democratic basic order..
During the last decades the lacking reforms have grown to
such an extent that no political formation can dare proposing them, and
even less to implement them. Otherwise the political formation
concerned can be sure to lose the next elections, taking into account
the current state of the citizens' civic education.
Therefore, it is highly unlikely that far-reaching
projects can come from current political circles (political parties,
Parliament, government). They have to be prepared and proposed by
citizens and organizations of the civil society. This explains the need
for clarifying the conditions (and other preconditions) of an efficient
democracy in our large open and heterogeneous societies. Moreover,
these conditions also have to take account of the new requirements at
the beginning of this century.
To see an outline of these
conditions click
here.
A comparison of these conditions with reality will
indicate the type and extent of necessary reforms.
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