- Chapter 12
- Towards Democracy without
Politics?
- Ignace Snellen
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- Introduction
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- There is a fundamental divide:
it lies between the function of politics and that of democracy.
When speaking about democratic politics this fundamental chasm
is often forgotten; in a democracy, politics and democracy are
usually seen as two sides of the same coin. But they are not.
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- Until recently, the fundamental
divide was disguised in the cloak of the general interest, for
which particular interests would have to retreat. However, information
and communications technology applications in the public domain,
which inform citizens about the real circumstances, make this
disguise, increasingly futile. There are an ever-increasing number
of technologies that facilitate this. Databases deliver statistical
information on which evidence based policies are founded and
allow analyses of the circumstances from every possible angle.
Group decision technologies, such as, for example, information
systems containing geographic related information, and computer
generated representations of reality, enable citizens and their
representative interest organisations to participate in planning
discussions, and to structure those discussions. Tracing and
tracking technologies make it possible to maintain an overview
of the activities and performances of public services and authorities.
Desktop technologies facilitate the instant organisation and
mobilisation of large segments of the populati-on. Network technologies
provide access to information, services, people and technologies.
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- The freedom of information
is ever expanding, not only with respect to governmental information,
but also to information about private actors such as enterprises.
Large numbers of people, and their capabilities, can be reached
at the same time in a cost-effective way. The use of email, chat
rooms, electronic dialogue systems, instant polling and referenda,
all accelerate the dissemination of opinions and insights. Together
these information and communications technology applications
support a shift from representative democracy to consultative
democracy and a drift away from traditional policymaking.
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- In this chapter an attempt
will be made to explain why, in a society where information and
communications technology applications are deployed to the full,
the practices of politics, even parliamentary politics, in the
perception of citizens, are increasingly irreconcilable with
the fundamental principles on which a democracy is based. The
contention is that in an information society, the conflict between
the principles of democracy and the practices of politics will
become increasingly visible, because the division of pleasures
and pains among citizens is becoming increasingly transparent.
Transparency makes legitimising an unequal division of pleasures
and pains in circumstances of equal claims, the essence of politics,
and guarding the integrity of the polity, increasingly problematic.
The irreconcilability between democracy and politics will lead,
at least in the sectors of society where pleasures and pains
are distributed, to democracy without politics. Politicians will
become marginal. Their role will be partly taken over by non-elected
officials and the judiciary, and partly relegated by civil society
(participatory civil society).
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- To substantiate these contentions,
the principles of democracy will be confronted with the basic
character of politics, and a distinction will be made between
politicians' perception of the nature of politics and the perception
held by many citizens. Against this background, examples from
the United States and The Netherlands are highlighted, which
point in the direction of a democracy without politics.
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