Is 'distinguished' U.S. democracy in decline?

By Aleksius Jemadu

BANDUNG (JP): Despite its enthusiasm to promote democracy and human rights all over the world, the United States has been troubled by some defects in its own practice of democracy at home.

There are at least three big problems which could damage the quality of American democracy. The problems are a significant decline in people's participation in elections, the role of "big money" in the election campaign and a widening gap between Washington as the national capital and the rest of the country.

If these problems continue to exist it will be difficult for the United States to substantiate its claim as the world champion of democracy.

Its low voter turnout in general elections, compared with other developed nations, for instance, can be regarded as an indication of widespread public apathy toward politics among American citizens.

In the 1996 presidential election only 48.8 percent of eligible voters actually went to the polls. This figure was much lower than the voter turnout for the 1992 general election in Great Britain, in which 78 percent of voters went to the polls.

In his book The Disappearing American Voter, Ruy A. Teixera (1992) argues that with the growing political cynicism and distrust, more and more American people are not interested in voting and tend to withdraw from politics. If that is the case, then it would be naive to suggest that the American people are in control of the governing process.

The second controversy in American democracy concerns the role of money in election campaigns. In fact, American people themselves are beginning to realize that something has to be done in order to kick big money out of politics.

The problem is that using expensive television advertisements as an effective tool for raising popular support has become a cumbersome imperative in American politics. Thus, candidates in an election have to spend a lot of money and energy to raise money from the public.

In many cases, a large proportion of the total money comes from wealthy individuals and big companies, with the effect that the voices of the small, individual voters do not really count. Even though federal law limits contributions that are spent on elections, candidates and political parties always manage to find loopholes to generate "soft money".

No one can deny that big financial contributions by individuals or companies are rarely, if ever, given out of benevolence. There is always a political and economic motive and calculation behind those contributions.

The contributors want bureaucratic decisions that will defend or promote their partisan interests. Thus, when the Clinton administration proposed policies which were against the interests of the tobacco industry, the tobacco companies immediately raised their contributions to the Republican party hoping that it could fight against these policies.

When money matters too much in politics, democracy could turn into a plutocracy, "government by a rich and powerful class".

The third problem is related to the fact that the national capital, Washington, has become increasingly "inaccessible" to the grass roots.

With its sophisticated corporate network of policy-making, it tends to be out of touch with the rest of the country. Powerful lobbyists and interest groups are said to dominate the making and direction of public policies in Washington.

In his book Arrogant Capital, American author Kevin Phillips (1994) suggests that unless some fundamental changes are made, Washington will lead the country to its inevitable decline and fall. To support his argument, Phillips provides empirical data taken from public opinion research on "who controls Washington".

In December 1993 it was reported that 57 percent of Americans thought Washington was controlled by lobbyists and special interests. This figure was much higher than the 21 percent of the population who thought Washington was controlled by the Democrats and Republicans in Congress.

As far back as 1821, Thomas Jefferson warned his fellow Americans that a Washington that was too dominating and powerful could jeopardize American democracy. He said: "When all government, domestic and foreign, in little as in great things, shall be drawn to Washington as the center of all power, it will render powerless the checks provided of one government on another, and will become as venal and oppressive as the government from which we separated".

Another American author who criticizes the actual function of democracy in the United States is G. William Domhoff. In his most recent book, titled Who Rules America?, Domhoff (1998) argues that American politics and economy are very much dominated by a power elite which consists of three overlapping networks of people and institutions: the corporate community, the social upper class, and the policy-formation network.

According to Domhoff, a fundamental change of this structure in the near future is unlikely given the fact that the power elite "has the economic and political resources to continue its domination of the federal government through campaign finance, lobbying, and policy recommendations ".

The continuing presence of these three structural problems in the American political system may serve as a serious obstacle to its ambition to become a global leader of the democratic world. The incompatibility between the goal of American foreign policy to promote democracy and human rights abroad, and its actual practice of democratic values at home could jeopardize its credibility in the eyes of the international community, especially among people in developing countries upon whom the United States frequently imposes its politically-driven economic and military sanctions.

It would be advisable for the United States to use its abundant financial resources to help other countries improve their democracy instead of showing an attitude of self- righteousness and condemnation. After all, the United States may have committed the same mistakes that it accuses other governments of making.

The writer is the head of the school of international relations at the University of Parahyangan, Bandung. He is also a member of the American Political Science Association.

Window: It would be advisable for the United States to use its abundant financial resources to help other countries improve their democracy instead of showing an attitude of self- righteousness and condemnation.