Contradictions

Contradictions

One of the fundamental principles of democracy is majority-rule. The majority is said to be able to influence or decide on the major decisions the country makes. Without responsible government, minority rights could be abused by the “tyranny of the majority”. But to put things into perspective, in the western world approximately 95% of the wealth is possessed by approximately 5% of the people. That means, using these same figures, that 95% of the people, the overwhelming majority, possess only 5% of the wealth. From the past US elections, we know that the campaigns of presidential candidates are bankrolled mainly by their rich supporters—and therefore, if they get into a position of power, they are indebted to these people. That suggests that this richest 5% of the people have the potential to influence the decisions of people in positions of power, so why then is democracy termed “majority-rule”?

To quote from a website, “When did the 95% of people, the overwhelming majority, ever vote for the right for themselves to be poor and vote for the tiny 5% minority to possess their own (the poor people's) share of the nation's wealth that the poor majority's ancestors have fought and died to protect?”

This is the contradiction of democracy.

This “majority-rule” is what the politicians and the richest 5% want us to believe, as what they call democracy.


-Daryl Yeo