Elections, Democracy, and Politics

R.G. Williams

This short essay is a study of the role of elections and democracy in modern society.

Elections are supposed to be great democratic events. They are supposed to be great democratic votes where the mass of the people exercise their democratic power – by electing representatives, by electing a government, by changing a government. Elections, themselves, have often been part of modern politics and modern society — especially since the French Revolution and the rise of Capitalism. Indeed, for some defenders of modern Capitalist democracy, elections are the ‘ultimate form’ of democracy – because they are direct votes of the people, by the people, for the people. In theory they are a great example for democracy – of democracy in action. In theory, elections are democracy.

Elections are part of any democracy. For Socialists, like myself, the theory and practice of elections, as a form of mass democracy, is great. For Socialists, we want a democratic society. We want to see a more democratic society – a society where democracy matters – a Socialist society, a Socialist democracy. Elections, however, as a type of democracy, are only useful to democracy in a society which also has other forms of democracy — such as workers’ councils, workers’ assemblies, popular assemblies, national assemblies, international assemblies, and Socialist democracy.3 Elections are only useful for democracy when united with other forms of democracy. This is why Socialism is vital for democracy. This is why democracy is the basis of Socialism. This is why Socialists, as revolutionary democrats, believe in greater and better forms of democracy – greater and better than the limited democracy, and the limited elections, of Capitalist society. Capitalist society uses elections – but elections in Capitalist society are useless and wasted. They waste democracy by limiting democracy itself to useless politics.

Elections, in theory and in practice, are a great form of democracy – but in Capitalist society they are mostly useless. Most elections and plebiscites in Capitalist society are useless for democracy. They usually mean nothing. They change very little about politics and only serve to reinforce and expose the problems of bourgeois society. They hardly ever change the economic or social basis of society. They often reduce the complexity of politics to simplistic ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions and decisions. They do include the mass of the people, in a single vote, but then tend to exclude the people from broader day-to-day politics. They also tend to divide the people and undermine efforts for a collective, unified, democracy – by reducing politics to absurd or abstract questions. Elections do not change much about the nature of politics in Capitalist societies — either in the past or today. Instead, elections, in most Capitalist societies, tend to only reinforce the existing politics of Capitalism. If we want good elections, elections that mean something, elections that actually change our society, then we need Socialism – a society based on the freedom of each and the freedom of all, a society based on real, purposeful, democracy.

Most democratic states, today, have a democratic vision of elections — from Europe to America, from Africa to Asia. This vision is the vision that elections, in themselves, preserve and ensure democracy. This vision, however, is undermined by reality today – when elections are ignored, are useless, or objectively made a society worse. We can see this in the recent politics which have developed in Britain since the June 2016 referendum on the European Union. In the end, however, elections, plebiscites, and bourgeois democracy, are not good enough examples of democracy. Only a Socialist society, with Socialist democracy, can make elections, plebiscites, and democracy, actually democratic. Only the working class can win the battle for democracy.1 Until Socialism is achieved most elections and votes are meaningless to actual democracy — as meaningless as the ‘democratic vote’ of 1852 which made Louis Bonaparte into Napoleon III.2 Only Socialism can make society and elections actually democratic. Until then we shall only be left with the problems of elections and their choices — left with only the problems of elections in history. This does not mean that elections are wrong — but rather that real, democratic, elections can only exist under Socialism. The struggle for meaningful democracy is part of the struggle for Socialism.

Elections, referendums, and plebiscites do not, by themselves, tend to change or shift politics, society, or history – which is why Capitalist societies often use them.3 In the end it is the people, through their social struggles, that change society. Revolutions have changed more societies, for the better, than useless elections. Despite this, elections are politically important. It is important that Socialists, and other radicals, know about the history and the politics of elections — in order to engage with the politics of elections when they occur today, as part of the struggle for Socialism. Socialists should stand in elections. Socialist parties should try to win elections. Indeed, Socialists should always try to win elections, and especially win government, especially in peaceful and democratic societies where the Left has a chance to win. Socialists should always take part in any political struggle that advances the cause of changing society – especially democratic elections. However, Socialists also understand the limitations of democracy and elections in any Capitalist society.4 As long as Capitalism exists, democracy (under Capitalism) will always be a flawed democracy. It will always be flawed – because Capitalism, in the end, always destroys democracy. The only way to defend, expand, and achieve democracy (real power to the people) is through Socialism – through achieving a Socialist democracy. When there is Capitalism there can be no democracy, but when there is democracy there will be no Capitalism. It is only when we achieve Socialism, a more democratic form of human society, that elections will actually be a useful way of developing democracy. Until we achieve Socialism, elections, even very democratic elections, will always be limited by the politics of Capitalism.

We need real democracy. We need real elections – elections that actually change society. The only way to actually achieve real elections – elections that count – is to achieve real, direct, popular democracy – democracy of the people, by the people, for the people. The only way to actually achieve this democracy is to build Socialism – a democracy of each and a democracy of all.

Notes

1. K. Marx and F. Engels, The Communist Manifesto, (1848)
2. K. Marx, The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte, (1852)
3. K. Marx, The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte, (1852)
4. A. Gramsci, The Communists and the Elections, (1921)

(2016)

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This post was written by R.G. Williams