What Makes a Strong Democracy?

The Case for Active Communities

Good government is not something to be taken for granted. The long and protracted history of governmental neglect of social issues eg homeless, racism, high crime, good education, public health, social justice, decent jobs, and corruption, etc, in many democratic nations is clear evidence of this. The history of many western democracies and countries that are their former colonies is replete with their people's struggles against tyranny and autocratic, often cruel, rulers and leaders. It is therefore convenient to embrace the idea that opposition parties are the “natural” solutions to the prevention of bad government. 

Singapore does not have the same historical baggage as other democratic nations. Our short 56-year history as an independent sovereign nation has been with a good, honest, non-corrupt, and benevolent People’s Action Party (PAP) Government that subjects itself to regular democratic accountability at every general election, and earns its regular re-election to power.

Singaporeans understand that different views are not necessarily opposite views. Whereas opposition parties in many other countries have usually developed as a response to an autocratic, oppressive, and tyrannical government, one can better understand the little desire for opposition parties and politics in Singapore.  

Democracy however does not require opposition politics at all. Democracy merely mandates adequate space for a wide diversity of opinions and views.  Opposite views and opinions occupy but a tiny segment of the wide spectrum of possible diverse and different views and opinions.  That we should have and welcome a wider diversity of views and opinions is never an issue.  A better-educated population has increasingly increased its knowledge of the possible and think in terms of widening choice options for a better society. 

An opinion is shaped by the continuous acquisition of knowledge, subjected to a process of thinking, and forged by unceasing questioning, discussions, and debate.  It is neither ad hoc nor does it surface only every four or five years at election time.

Are there guarantees that future governments may not be as trustworthy as the current PAP government that we had for the past 55 years? No. However, an insurance policy in the form of opposition parties would be illogical and nonsensical.  It is like saying that a good and lasting marriage would be guaranteed through a well-designed pre-nuptial agreement for the possible eventuality of a divorce.

Strong communities, not opposition parties, are the basic units of a strong democratic society. The best guarantees for continuous good government lie in active communities that have networks and norms of trust and reciprocity that promote community cooperation.

In fact, it has been the dedicated and painstaking efforts by PAP Members of Parliament in the nurture and development of such social capital that have captured the hearts and minds of Singaporeans to obtain repeated electoral victories.  

Singaporeans are not persuaded or convinced, due to the lack of evidence of any kind, that a future PAP government can ever be less empathetic or compassionate, or could become hostile and insensitive to their needs, pains, and aspirations.  

It is also too simplistic and naïve to attribute the last landslide election victory in 2020 and earlier ones by the PAP to mere promises made in the heat of general elections. Election year or not, the truth is that the people have always benefited in tangible and substantial ways each and every year under a PAP government.

Is an alternative democratic system, without opposition politics, desirable and achievable? Singapore has been enjoying over the past 56 years a democratic society where government and people lived in mutual support and trust, and not mutual suspicions and in perpetual social conflicts or endemic civil disobedience.  The continuation of the future in the present is in fact within our grasp.

Active communities will provide the context and settings where residents could gather spontaneously to interact and discuss issues of common concern, and where citizens can establish a connection with other members of their community and begin to develop a collective political identity.  The stronger these networks, the more likely that members of a community will cooperate for mutual benefit.  

The active community is clearly capable of building social networks and information exchange needed to achieve collective purposeful action. Constructive action is possible only with an understanding of how our fellow citizens think and feel about issues.  The challenge for active communities is to find a way to pool the good judgment and foresight of the few for the benefit of the many.      

Active involvement and participation also foster a sense of being closer to the community, which then result in a synergy of efforts for capacity and capability building with the potential to increase social capital for a strong democratic society.   Direct participation in the life of the community will prevent any regression to the kind of anarchy and lawlessness in the streets of major US cities over the past months by authoritarian groups in the face of weak and feckless local political leaders. The key to a strong democracy is to encourage good and able people to volunteer, lead and participate in the many community and voluntary organizations in his neighbourhood.

Community leaders who have proven their trustworthiness, dedication, and competence could logically be the natural community choice as democratically elected parliamentary representatives.   Some may choose to join any ruling political party or form their own political parties to contest free and democratic elections.

In a mature democracy, there can be many political parties that are not necessarily opposition parties, but merely political parties formed to promote particular interests or advocate specific social needs.

There is also in essence, however, nothing improper or wrong to have a responsible, one-party government that is inclusive in its membership and tolerant of various diverse but constructive views and opinions as to what's best for Singapore. 

John Dewey (1939) had described democracy in "Creative democracy - the task before us" as "a way of life controlled by a working faith in the possibilities of human nature." This would require our faith in the capabilities of each Singaporean and faith in community learning and education as means of unleashing and sharpening those capacities to build community capacilities.  This is the model of an advanced future democratic system as the alternative to opposition polities whose norm is self-destructive opposition to the democratically elected government of the day.

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