Will democracy run out of options?

Yue Shixuan (Yu Sheng)

The current US presidential election, between George W. Bush and John Kelly, is a fiercely contested battle. Throughout the campaign, neither side has had a clear advantage at any point, and opinion polls have shown their support to be nearly identical. The entire nation is on edge, fearing a repeat of the outcome four years ago: Bush winning by over 500 votes in a recount and then by a Supreme Court ruling, despite a significantly lower number of votes nationwide. I’ve met many Americans who say Bush will win, but not by a large margin. It’s a pity the Democrats haven’t found a more charismatic candidate.

I wrote these words a few days before the 2004 US presidential election. The final result was: Bush won 51 percent to 48 percent, with 60 percent of eligible voters participating. As I watched the long lines of people waiting to vote on television, I could almost hear their impatient whispers: “Hey, which guy move up a bit? Don’t you like Bush?” I didn’t like him either. But for God’s sake, I gave him a push. If we were to repeat the events of four years ago, it would be a catastrophe for democracy.

A few months ago, Taiwan’s presidential election went through almost the same process. During the campaign, both sides mobilized fully, with large rallies one after another. Even Taiwanese living overseas were inspired and rushed back to Taiwan to participate in the election. Chen Shui-bian and Annette Lu of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), who later won the election by tens of thousands more votes than their opponents, were shot and slightly injured the day before the election. After the election, the defeated Kuomintang (KMT) immediately demanded a recount, only to find that the number of invalid votes, due to illegible handwriting and other reasons that made it impossible to determine the true intentions of the voters, far exceeded the difference in the total number of votes won by the two parties. The Kuomintang (KMT) also accused Chen Shui-bian and director Annette Lu of shooting in an attempt to gain sympathy votes. On October 30, 1995, Quebec held its second referendum to decide whether to secede from Canada and form an independent nation. The first such vote was in 1980; fifteen years of debate led to this vote. Although it was a provincial vote, all of Canada watched with bated breath. The result was 50.58% to 49.42%, deciding to remain in Canada, a difference of only 1.16%. If this vote was Quebecers’ loudest cry within Canada: “Pay attention to our special interests as Quebecers,” they achieved their goal.

These election results hardly reflect the will of the voters, let alone the opinion of the majority; they are no different from ancient lotteries, yet they cost hundreds of millions of dollars. In the 2004 US election, the government provided each candidate with $74.6 million for campaign expenses. In reality, Bush and Kelly spent $330 million and $279 million respectively.

The question is, has democracy exhausted all choices? If you asked someone who doesn’t care about elections, the answer would likely be a resounding “yes.”

A banker on a Canadian radio station said that Bush and Kelly were the same to him; if there was any difference, it was like the difference between traditional Coca-Cola and diet Coca-Cola, where the latter is made to meet the needs of weight loss by reducing sugar and calories. The banker, being a businessman with a strong sense of social direction, also had a direction in his analogy: from tradition to weight loss.

Most people don’t care whether their country has a traditional Coca-Cola or a food-based Coca-Cola, but some people do prefer one over the other. For example, more people prefer traditional Coca-Cola. So, food-based Coca-Cola makes slight changes to become more like traditional Coca-Cola, and vice versa. In other words, a balance must be struck, ensuring that voters have no choice. A similar balancing mechanism exists among voters. If traditional Coca-Cola is winning, its voters will say, “My favorite Coca-Cola has already won, I don’t need to vote.” Due to laziness, food-based Coca-Cola fans who weren’t prepared to vote at all, upon hearing that the other is about to win, decide to vote at the last minute to salvage the situation.

Democracy is a significant development in Western societies, encouraging competition, leading to rapid social change, and satisfying the material desires of the majority. However, democracy is not without its flaws; Socrates was executed by vote, and Hitler initially won a majority. Voting methods should be used for measurable matters, things that are clearly discernible to everyone. A prime example is war, which can unite people, and the methods for winning a war are easily understood. During World War II, many countries adopted the slogan “Everything for the war,” and even films and literature were filled with war propaganda. From a philosophical perspective, even in such extraordinary times, society does not have the right to occupy all of the citizens’ leisure time; citizens have the right to continue their lives without interruption for any reason. As Lao Tzu said, it is best if the existence of the government is unknown to the people.

The Cold War era has passed, and the political atmosphere has become more relaxed. According to Taoist thought, when people are free from external pressure and can easily engage in introspection, they are better able to understand their own natural needs and break free from the constraints of a secondary social culture. People’s desire to live their ideal lives undisturbed by external factors is not about abandoning realistic goals.

If we are sick, we see a doctor. Modern doctors use computers to help diagnose and choose treatment options. You might say that the human body is complex and difficult for the average person to understand, so it requires professionals. When there are no clear-cut choices, we have to consider many multiple issues, and political choices become as complex as a human illness. The average person may not realize that considering six or seven social issues simultaneously requires a high-performance computer to calculate the differences. If well-trained national administrators used mainframe computers to manage the country and society, decision-making would be faster and cheaper. The will of the people could be simultaneously input into the computer and considered. Such a system is more like the human body’s physiological and biochemical management system.

One worrying trend is that young people are becoming increasingly uninterested in politics. Politicians have yet to implement effective measures to reverse this trend. Young people are tomorrow’s adults, which is at least one reason for the declining voter turnout in Western countries. Below are the voter turnout figures for recent US presidential elections:

51.3% in 2000

49% in 1996

55% in 1992

50.1% in 1988

53.1% in 1984

52.5% in 1980

53.5% in 1976

55.2% in 1972

60.8% in 1968

61.9% in 1964

63% in 1960

Birth rates in Western countries surged from the end of World War II until the 1960s, exceeding pre- and post-war rates by 20-30 percent. This generation is known as the baby boomer. The baby boom has had a significant impact on the Western economy; for example, as these baby boomers now enter retirement age, it is expected to cause a series of social phenomena, such as lower housing prices and a shortage of skilled workers in industry. Those born in the 1970s, after the baby boom, are referred to as Generation X. According to Canadian writer Douglas Kupolland, who himself belongs to Generation X, Generation X differs from the baby boomers in that they are less materialistic, less concerned with money, and more focused on personal enjoyment and pleasure, emphasizing individual freedom. In short, Generation X is closer to human nature, while the baby boomers are closer to the demands of traditional Western culture. This is no coincidence. As humanity gradually moves away from the threat of war, it is able to introspect and listen to the influence of its nature, which is in line with the basic ideas of Taoism.

In the 1980s and 90s, anthropologists widely accepted a new system of cultural interpretation: postmodernism. Postmodernism was a reaction against traditional Western science and rational thinking. In postmodernism, there is no overall direction; people each have their own direction, and there is no distinction between mainstream and peripheral cultures; instead, countless streams flow in their own channels. One day, I read an article online about the Hindu tradition’s concepts of freedom and democracy, and it felt like being lost in a thick fog, with no hope of clarity. I didn’t finish reading it, sighing, “This might be the meaning of what postmodernists mean by the insurmountable cultural boundaries.” As I understand it, that article discussed democracy and freedom on a cosmic and spiritual level.

Freedom and democracy are issues at the social and cultural level within a secondary society, equivalent to the concepts of humanity and social equality in a primitive society. The cosmos and spirit transcend the social and cultural levels, and democracy and freedom lose their corresponding value at these levels. However, if you wish to build a temple or a large statue to support the pursuit of cosmic and spiritual values, thus clashing with secular society, you might need to achieve your plan through channels like democracy and freedom. According to Taoist understanding, secular considerations cannot penetrate the spiritual and cosmic levels. Taoist scholars adapt to existing society while simultaneously pursuing their spiritual freedom. At the spiritual and cosmic level, all things are one, the Tao is unified, and there are no distinctions as in secular society.

Post-2004 US presidential election surveys showed that 80% of those concerned with morality voted for Bush, while 80% of those concerned with the economy voted for Kelly. Among those who considered religious faith the most important quality, 91% voted for Bush; and among those who considered wisdom the most important quality, 91% voted for Kelly. If this survey is accurate, Bush’s victory indicates a societal shift towards morality and religion. Newspapers also reported that for the first time since the 1930s, American high school students attended church more often than their parents, but this is the most peaceful era since the 1930s, and a relaxed and comfortable mindset is conducive to spiritual pursuits.

The survey mentioned above seems to be about something different from what was discussed during the election campaign, which also shows that elections are becoming increasingly detached from the lives of most people, and that people are not voting because of the candidates’ policy plans.

Lao Tzu said, “Hold fast to the great image, and all under heaven will flock to you. They will flock to you without harm, and peace and vastness will prevail.” (Chapter 35) Here, Lao Tzu is saying that if you uphold the banner of the Great Way and practice its principles, people from all over the world will come to you. If you let them live according to their own will without interference, the world will become peaceful, harmonious, and expansive. Election platforms and religious morality are matters of secondary societies, and Lao Tzu makes no mention of them. Lao Tzu repeatedly mentions the example of infants; naked infants are a symbol of unadorned humanity. Setting aside the differences between secondary social cultures, humanity should unite on the basis of basic human nature. At that time, humanity will have only one choice: the oneness of all things, eternal peace, harmony, and expansiveness, as proclaimed by Taoism.