The Trouble with Democracy

The British election will be held in about May, perhaps earlier seeing that Brown and the Labour party are growing in confidence, after narrowing the Conservatives lead by around 5 points, which means there is a great possibility of a hung election, where no party has an outright majority.

Democracy, for all it is worth, is ruining Britain by the day. Politicians are there to tell the electorate what they want to hear, at the same time as doing favours for their industrial friends who will vote them into power. Median voter theory tells us that politicians aim to select the 'median' set of voters in the country, and then look at swinging policy in their favour. In Britain, the median voter is about age 45, so, the more or less elderly.

One of the main election topics is pensions. Since the median voters are fairly old, they will be very interested in how the government is going to look after them in their old age. Thus, the government inevitably promises increased pensions/better care etc. The only trouble is that it is the youngsters who bare the brunt of this policy, and to make matters worse, they 'aren't interested in politics' and would rather spend the time enjoying themselves. The effects are only felt later in life.

Another aspect of politics is that of 'rent seeking' where select individuals and groups lobby goverment to pass laws in their favour. An example is the automobile industry or CAP (common agricultural policy). It really is rediculous. How can a few farmers (i.e. less than 5% of this country) benefit so much at the expense of the rest of the population? Why couldnt the government instead to favours for haid dressers, or corner shops? The reason is that these groups have voting power and will get the government into power.

So what happens, is there is a 'spiralling' of spending, to appease the median voters which simply increases borrowing or taxes and sooner or later, well, surely the country goes bust. Europe is on the brink of bankruptcy. For all the good that democracy brings, I think there are better alternatives.