Will economics brings about democracy?<\/p>\n
By Makmur Keliat<\/p>\n
The following article is the first of two articles on the
\nrelations between market economy and democratization.<\/p>\n
SURABAYA (JP): The hypothesis that there is a correlation
\nbetween the market economy and liberal democracy is by no means
\nnew. It is argued that a stable democracy requires certain
\npreconditions in education, urbanization, economics, and the
\npress.<\/p>\n
Conventional wisdom has is that the spirit of democracy will
\nflourish in countries where these indices are high.<\/p>\n
Although some doubt the validity of this idea for developing
\ncountries, there is a new enthusiasm among social scientists to
\nprove such a correlation.<\/p>\n
Recent studies have examined evolving democratic systems in
\ndeveloping countries. While many democratic governments in
\ndeveloping countries fell to authoritarian ones in the past, the
\ntectonics of history are pushing in a different direction now.
\nLatin America was the first region to emerge from
\nauthoritarianism in the early 1980s, followed by some East Asian
\ncountries in the mid and late 1980s: the Philippines, South Korea
\nand Taiwan.<\/p>\n
The collapse of the Soviet Union further boosted the idea that
\nliberal democracy and the market economy represent the best way
\nof life for humanity. Moreover, rapid economic globalization has
\nallowed global capital flows to promote ever more sweeping market
\nliberalization worldwide. The dramatic advances in information
\ntechnology are creating a virtual society, kindling a slow
\nbrushfire of democracy.<\/p>\n
Indonesia is an interesting case. With average annual growth
\nof six percent under the New Order regime, Indonesia has achieved
\nremarkable economic progress compared to other developing
\ncountries in Latin American or Africa.<\/p>\n
As a result of this success, there has been an explosion of
\nuniversity graduates. Economic development has brought more and
\nmore villagers into the booming cities, and a ballooning middle
\nclass has emerged.<\/p>\n
Though export revenues from oil are still significant, they
\naccount for less than half of the balance of trade. The
\nerratically fluctuating price of oil prompted the Indonesian
\ngovernment to introduce market-oriented economic reforms. Since
\n1973 various packages of economic deregulation were launched to
\ndiversify exports and shift from an import substitution strategy
\nto an export oriented one. In short, the economy has gradually
\nbecome more integrated into the global economic structure.<\/p>\n
Politically, Indonesia is in a complicated situation. The
\ncountry is still being governed by an authoritarian regime, and
\nvarious sectors of society have become more vocal in the past few
\nyears.<\/p>\n
Strikes are cropping up more frequently in big cities like
\nJakarta, Surabaya, Bandung and Medan, suggesting that the co-
\nopting strategy the government has adopted seems no longer to be
\nworking. The aspirations of workers are not being met.<\/p>\n
The establishment of the Indonesian Prosperous Labor Union
\n(SBSI) in 1992 underlines this point. It amounted to a rejection
\nof the All-Indonesia Workers Union (SPSI), the only union
\nallowed, a body close to the government.<\/p>\n
It is also worth mentioning that there is an increasing number
\nof mass organizations with political aspirations. The acronyms
\nthey adopt often imply this. The Indonesian National Unity Party
\nfor instance uses the acronym PNI (formerly the acronym of the
\nIndonesian Nationalist Party which was merged into the Indonesian
\nDemocratic Party). Meanwhile Majelis Syarikat Ummat Muslimin
\nIndonesia uses the acronym Masyumi (formerly of the Majelis Syuro
\nIndonesia, a leading political party of the 1950's which
\ndisbanded in 1960).<\/p>\n
Moslem intellectuals established their own organization in
\n1990, the Association of Indonesian Moslem Intellectuals (ICMI).
\nMeanwhile the YKPK (National Foundation Brotherhood) and PCPP
\n(Association of Intellectuals for Pancasila Development)
\nestablished in 1995 could be considered an intellectual-political
\norganization simply because many noted Indonesian politicians and
\nretired generals are members.<\/p>\n
Various economic issues such as capital concentration and
\nconglomeration, economic inequity, and poverty in rural areas are
\nnot taboo anymore. Demands for the breaking up of dubious
\nmonopolies are being openly articulated.<\/p>\n
It is becoming increasingly common to see protests and
\ncounter-protests in front of the House of Representatives. The
\ngovernment itself has announced that the army's quota in the
\nHouse will be reduced. However, it remains questionable whether
\nall this means that Indonesia is heading toward democracy.<\/p>",
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