Freedom Flyer May 1990 Cover

Freedom Flyer 16

the official newsletter of the
Freedom Party of Ontario

May 1990




Article electronically reproduced from:

The Burlington Post

May 4, 1990


Democracy can be used to oppress minorities

By WILLIAM FRAMPTON

If the events of the past several months are any indication, the world is about to witness an outbreak of democracy. The Communist regimes of eastern Europe appear to be crumbling and South Africa has released Nelson Mandela. Most commentators have generally endorsed these developments, which seem to herald changes for the better.

The Western world's euphoria is due to the fact people usually associate democracy with individual freedom, as in the phrase "a free and democratic society". Comparing democracies with totalitarian regimes, it is understandable most people have come to associate democracy with a free society. In fact, however, democracy is incompatible with the ideal of freedom.

A free society is one in which the individual's natural rights to life, liberty and property are protected and all citizens are equal before the law. It is a society in which the power of government is strictly limited to this purpose, and all peaceful actions are lawful.

The Oxford English dictionary defines democracy as "government by the people; that form of government in which the soverign power resides in the people as a whole, and is exercised directly by them (as in the small republics of antiquity) or by officers elected by them. In modern use, often more vaguely denoting a social state in which all have equal rights, without hereditary or arbitrary differences in rank or privilege".

Thus even the dictionary refers only to a vague association of democracy with equal rights, while making it very clear that in both theory and practice democracy bestows "soverign power" on majorities. How else could the people "as a whole" determine government policy? The word sovereign is defined as "supreme in power, rank, etc.; above all others; greatest; of or being a ruler; reigning."

The smallest minority in the world is the individual. We cannot have it both ways; either each individual is permitted to control his own destiny, or the will of the majority prevails.

There is nothing in the definition of democracy that limits the power a government can wield over its citizens. It is clear from this that the only difference between democracy and dictatorship is in how the rulers are chosen. Tyranny is still tyranny, whether the tyrants are a minority or the majority.

Contrary to popular belief, democracy is not a philosophy of government at all. Democratic theory does not suggest why man needs the institution of government or what its purpose should be. Democracy is merely a system and as such it can be used as a vehicle to oppress minorities.

The moral status of any government is determined by its actions, not by how it came into office. The policies of a good government are firmly based on clear, consistent moral principles of right and wrong. Murder is not a crime because most people abhor it, it is a crime because it violates the right to life. Right and wrong cannot be determined simply by counting heads.

Quebec's Bill 101 and Bill 178 provide a good example of democratic legislation that violates individual rights. These oppressive language laws are very popular with the French-speaking majority in that province, so much so the Supreme Court of Canada's ruling against Bill 178 provoked a huge demonstration in Montreal. Since democracy means majority rule, it is clear that in both theory and practice these laws are entirely democratic.

Democracy has often paved the way for dictatorship, especially in Latin America and eastern Europe. It's all too often forgotten today that Adolf Hitler's Nazis were popularly elected in 1933. We would not condone the despicable policies of their regime because of this. On the contrary, we would condemn them as immoral and barbaric.

History shows conclusively that government must be constitutionally limited to the legitimate functions of protecting the natural human rights to life, liberty and property. Unless those countries that are now turning to democracy adopt such limits, their people will be no better off than before.

(William Frampton is Metro Region vice-president of the Freedom Party of Ontario.)




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