Democracy is supposed to be a “good thing”, but recent events have turned it into a mere academic fantasy realisable only in the classroom. Although democracy is glorified in classroom lectures, what we see in reality is over-glorified oligarchy.
In past times autocracy, absolute monarchy, theocratic tyranny and totalitarianism – whether fascist or not – were the order of the day. But people wanted democracy because both the laws of nature and the principles of natural law are in tune with it. In fact, in ancient times Igbo society was a democracy just as Athens was in Greece.
In the pre-classical epoch, democracy was seen as a solution to the problems caused by clerics wielding power arbitrarily in theocratic tyrannies. Even in the classical era people longed for an end to the arbitrary use of power. This was why Abraham Lincoln argued in favour of democracy, and his definition of democracy is often quoted, “government of the people, by the people, for the people”.
However, the three tests of democracy in Lincoln’s definition have been defeated by reality. What we now have is government of the gullible masses, by oligarchs, for the benefit of oligarchs. Rule by the majority is the strongest pillar of democracy, but today the majority are being manipulated by oligarchs who rule in their own interests. The people are now no more than servants of oligarchs. For this reason the most suitable term for modern democracy is oligarchy by default or “neo-Oligarchy”.
Oligarchy is simply a political system run by a few individuals – who are often the most wealthy citizens. In the modern world the extremely rich people who control whole countries have been re-packaged as democrats.
Let me take Africa as a particular example. In certain African countries, military or political oligarchs present themselves as being democrats, but they have a secret agenda. They manipulate the masses and divert their attention away from crucial issues such as economic development. They do this by weaponizing religion, poverty, gender, ethnicity and race. Only the oligarchs themselves benefit from this.
Recent events in the United States are a case in point. The US used to be a shining example of democracy, but now we have President Donald Trump who was supported by a majority of voters. Certain things which are found in Africa – such as religious politics, sexism and general irrelevancy – are now being suffered by the US as well. This has undermined America’s reputation as a uniquely democratic country.
The hijacking of American politics by the oligarchs is threatening abortion rights. In the past it was only religious sentiment which called the morality of these rights into question. However, the real issue is not whether women should have abortion rights or not. It is the hijacking of modern democracy by the oligarchs.
What we have now is democracy fettered by oligarchy – which is in effect “neo-Oligarchy” – but what we badly need is true democracy.