DEMOCRACY’S TWIST AS NUMEROCRACY

If democracy is a gift to the society its degeneration as numerocracy is a curse. Democracy is a gift of the ancients to us. Greeks contributed much to the philosophy, culture and society. However, the biggest and greatest of them is democracy. However democracy cannot sustain itself apart from the society. Democracy is not a metaphysical principle to exist in spite of the rejection or acceptance of the individuals in the society. Democracy is an ideal and together with it, has a practical dimension as well. Democracy is defined as a rule by the people of the people and for the people. Democracy is said to be the worst system to govern people but best among all the known ones.

Democracy is having a dimension in time and culture. Its use and misuse in daily life and political practice gave to it a wider dimension and change. Today democracy is witnessing one such change in its present form of application which, if persuaded by the different players successfully, will cause its own death. That cause is none other than number politics. Number politics would mean different groups within a society giving more importance to number of people belonging to their group in order to undermine other groups and to get maximum concession for their own group because number of votes matters above all else. Everyone seems to be completely at ease to use hook and crook for the same. Some groups even go to the extreme of aligning with other groups to gain what cannot be attained by one group alone. Furthermore, the outcry within these groups is for generating more children by the women members of the group in order to maximize their number for future thus degrading women as objects.  The number politics forces all the stakeholders to accuse each other for stealing members of their group to others especially women.

Undoubtedly, this type of number politics or could be better termed as numerocracy forces society to divide into groups and subgroups. In a society of consumerism where individuals have already lost their real identity numerocracy assures an identity at the cost of communal harmony and peace. There is no option for the good willed members of the society other than speaking against these tendencies which would destroy the society’s basic structure if allowed to grow without difficulties. Nip in the bud any such tendencies to promise peace and prosperity to the coming generations. Society needs democracy not numerocracy. Democracy offered peace and growth at least to some extent to all. Numerocracy will offer greater gifts to few individuals while assuring huge loss and lack of peace for the rest of the population. Put an end to numerocracy and let democracy to thrive.