Political democracy, as it is practiced in the world today, has a record of mixed success, and has failed to solve certain existential problems due to the absence of economic democracy. Loftily defined as "Government of the people, for the people, and by the people," political democracy is simply majority rule. And when vested interests are able to influence voters and politicians, whether by coercion, propaganda, bribery or clever manipulation of the media, it is easy to see that the real interests of even the majority are not always served. Similarly, under the influence of clever speeches and poor education, unqualified or corrupt leaders may be elected. While running the risk of underestimating people's power of self governance, it is important to realize that majority decision making is not free of blemishes, especially when politicians are bought and corporate media leaves voters poorly educated regarding the issues.
PROUT recognizes that certain prerequisites are necessary for a successful political democracy. Political candidates must be ethical, educated, and socially conscious. Voters must also demand ethical behavior of their leaders and have the requisite education and socio-economic consciousness to make rational decisions. Thus a high standard of impartial education is necessary to ensure that democracy is successful.
Presently money, intra-party status, and media portrayal have more to do with the success or failure of a candidate at the polls than does his or her position on issues and standard of behavior. In many countries, votes are bought and sold openly and corruption is the rule rather than the exception. It is often impossible for moral people to even dent the realm of politics. In the so-called developed countries, the situation is only little better, as financial and political control of the mass media and poor socio-economic consciousness prevail.
A further problem with the present system of political democracy is that as candidates are dependent upon campaign contributions from the wealthy, in most instances, they end up catering to the demands of those influential sections of society. This means that the decisions taken by the leaders in a "democratic" country do not necessarily reflect the best interests of society as a whole. Political leaders are forced to serve powerful corporate interest groups, even immoral hypocrites, who have tremendous financial influence. They are unable to maintain their offices if they cross such people. And due to continual pressure to canvass for funding, the role of money in politics is paramount.
The system of political parties seems also to have significant defects. Candidate qualifications, personal integrity, and the spirit of social service play secondary roles to party status and seniority. Candidates are forced to abide by party policies and cannot effectively combat elections without party endorsement. In this way, political parties are also controlled by monied interests. For these reasons, PROUT advocates a system of partyless democracy.
Under PROUT's system, independent political candidates would be required to state their platform policies in black-and-white. Failure to implement such programs could result in termination from office so as to prevent politicians from making empty promises for the sake of an election. A partyless system is of paramount importance for lessening corruption. Of course, it is natural that like minded people will associate and work together out of common interest. Indeed, it would be impossible to enact any positive measures independently. Yet, it is clear that the current formality of party affiliation has significant drawbacks. A more balanced approach without the formalities of party name and the necessity of party endorsement may alleviate such problems.
So, in addition to economic democracy, PROUT advocates a democratic political system with certain modifications. PROUT favors the three branch system of Executive, Legislative, and Judicial with the addition of an independent Financial or Public Exchequer department. This is an important addition that would monitor federal spending and publicize the strengths and weaknesses of government programs. This department would keep the accounts of the other three departments. All of these departments should function independently.
It should also be stressed that there should be no political involvement in economic affairs by the central governments, as the economic system is to be decentralized. Local governments would be responsible for the running of certain key industries, but for this purpose, independent managers would be hired. Key industries would not be run by politicians, whose skills are much different.
[Be sure to review Basic Design Principles and other links to your right.]
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