What Is True Democracy

If your idea of democracy stops at majority rule it is not true democracy. If your idea of democracy allows the majority to oppress minorities it is not true democracy. If your idea of democracy provides political power based on income and wealth it is not true democracy.

Yes true democracy includes free elections based on one person one vote but it is much more than that. The electoral system must not be unduly influenced by money and it must elect a legislature that represents all philosophical/political viewpoints of it’s citizens, preferably through some form of proportional representation.

True democracy must balance majority rule with minority rights and it must balance individual rights with collective rights.

True democracy must include some aspics of libertarianism as well as many aspects of socialism.

From libertarianism we discard the extreme individualism but keep individual freedom of thought, belief, conscience and freedom of expression, including freedom of the press/media. We also add, though not usually considered libertarian but certainly philosophically libertarian, the right to be ones self, particularly regarding sexual orientation and gender identity.

From socialism we include collective and economic rights including freedom of association and collective bargaining, freedom of peaceful assembly, the right to employment and access to affordable housing, publicly funded education and health care, as well as economic security provided via a guaranteed annual income or universal basic income, as well as a progressive tax system that reduces economic inequality.

You cannot have political equality and thus a true democracy in a country that has massive economic inequality.

True democracy also includes individual responsibilities, such as being politically aware and active and caring for and helping your fellow citizens.

Diversity also strengthens a true democracy.

True democracy is not electing a dictator every four to five years.

Statement of Democratic Principles

With an election looming the Fifth Column calls on all federal political parties and party leaders to adopt the following:

Statement of Democratic Principles

The Canadian people have the right to elect Members of Parliament of their choosing and the House of Commons of their choice.

The House of Commons elected by the Canadian people has the right to govern.

A government that has the support and confidence of a majority of the Members of the House of Commons is legitimate, and indeed a government requires the confidence of a majority of the Members of the House of Commons to be legitimate.

The letter and spirit of fixed election date legislation must be respected and that an early election should only be held when it is not possible to form a government that has the confidence of a majority of the House of Commons.

And further, that party representation in the House of Commons should reflect the popular vote and that a process should begin immediately following the election to amend the electoral process to ensure that.

Finally, we all pledge to inform the Governor General that we have adopted and support this Declaration of Democratic Principles.

As The Fifth Column is a small player in the blogosphere, if any of the larger players want to promote this please feel free to take the ball and run with it.

Jack Laytons Finest Hour

Jack Layton being Prime Ministerial in front to the House of Commons Chamber. How
appropriate.

Read it here

Watch it here If you get an error message at the start close it and hit play

What Should Michaëlle Jean Do

The Governor General's duties are mostly ceremonial but she also has constitutional responsibilities, including ensuring there is always a Prime Minister.

I believe that the Governor General should not override the wishes of an elected government unless it is attempting to subvert the Constitution or the will of the House of Commons.

In the current political situation it is very clear that the government of the day is attempting to subvert the will of the majority of the House of Commons and the response of the Governor General should be to protect democracy.

The Truth About Parliamentary Democracy – Majority Rule

Since some people seem to be having trouble understanding how Parliamentary democracy works, let me explain it for them.

In our Parliamentary system we do not directly elect the Prime Minister and government but they are determined by the composition of the House of Commons. The only people who voted for Stephen Harper were the voters in his constituency and they voted for him as a Member of Parliament, not as Prime Minister.

The main principle of our Parliamentary system is that it is based on majority rule. The democratic legitimacy of a government is based on the fact that it has the support, or confidence, of the majority of the Members of the House of Commons. The main principle of our democracy is not “party with the most seats” rule but “majority” rule. Let us repeat that – majority rule.

Currently in Canada it appears that the Conservative government is about to lose the confidence of a majority of the Members of the House of Commons and a Progressive Coalition is going to be formed that will have the confidence of a majority of the Members of the House of Commons.

That is how our democratic process is supposed to work – by majority rule.