Cogito Ergo Non Serviam

Ferguson, Missouri's Trouble is Democratic Atrophy

The current civil unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, stems from a single incident of a white cop shooting an unarmed black teenager 6 times, killing the kid. The governor has taken the local police off crowd-control duties and given the job to the state highway patrol. A few days later, he called up the National Guard to help the patrol. The authorities experimented with a curfew. In short, the situation is out of hand. Put another way, this is what happens when democracy is thwarted.

The theory behind democracy is neat and simple. The people periodically choose politicians who work to implement the will of the people. Those who successfully do the people's bidding retain their offices. Those who do not lose elections and seek employment in another field. This does not guarantee good government nor does it ensure wise policy. The people are by definition quite average in their judgment. What it does achieve is a sense within the population that their interests and concerns are factored into the actions of the government. Thus, there is no need to riot because one can vote. As the old British Liberal Party anthem "The Land" puts it, "why should we be beggars with the ballot in our hand?"

Democratic theory, however, presumes sufficiently high voter turnout to ensure that the voice of the people actually is the voice of all (or most) of the people. In Ferguson, that just isn't the case. The City Charter says that elections for city office are to be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in April and they occur in odd-numbered years. Thus, no presidential, senatorial, or gubernatorial candidates are on the ballot, and so there is no large push in the media to make the electorate aware that they can vote.

In 2013, the last time the city held and election, the turnout was 11.7% of eligible voters. There is simply no way on God's green Earth that such a figure can be considered effectively democratic. The results are by definition, minority rule. Naturally, most people feel the government doesn't represent them because it doesn't.

In an ideal world, people would pay as much attention to skin color as dogs do to their different colors and breeds. However, race is a factor in human society. In Ferguson, the lack of effective democracy is easily seen in the racial paradoxes of city government. In a city where 2/3 of the population is black, it would be reasonable to presume that a significant number of civic leaders would be black as well. For better or worse, some Americans do vote on racial lines. However, five out of six city council members are white, as is the mayor (who is a Republican). The 53-member police department that has shamed itself so badly has but 3 black officers.

If the city held its elections in November of even numbered years, turn out would improve. In 2012, about 55% of the city's electorate voted in the presidential election. While 55% is nothing to cheer about when one speaks of voter turnout, it's almost 5 times better than the current situation.

There is a darker side to this as well. The Republican Party has adopted a strategy of voter suppression to skew the electorate to its advantage. The GOP must consider whether winning an election that the voters don't see as legitimate is really worth it. If the level of democratic atrophy in Ferguson were replicated across the nation, holding office would not be worth it. The "winners" of the election would have to spend their entire term of office trying to keep control of the population.

© Copyright 2014 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.



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