On the logical and practical possibility of the state that we may call Democratic Stability and the tenets that support such a state

What delightfully interesting points to note. But perhaps we should now consider democracy as a system in itself.

What is "instability"? Stability of a society is a state where there is no potential for conflict, whether through discontent of people or otherwise. Instability, therefore, is the opposite of such, that is a state that has such potential for discontent and conflict.

Democracy, as was expressed, is dependent on active Citizen participation. Such participation arises when there is a need, be it during an election when there is a need for a representative of the people; or more obviously in demonstrations with the voicing out of concerns.

It is an almost given premise that people are different, and thus endowed with their own individual characteristic, needs, requirements and desires. Now, certain such individual needs contradict (To give a simple model as an example, a tall person would want a high doorknob such that he need not stoop, and a short person would want a low doorknob that he need not go on tiptoes.) Given this, there would always be some need, or potential for some need, to be unaddressed, leading to discontent and bringing out of active citizen participation which democracy requires.

Such needs, as above ascribed, can contradict each other, and therefore no compromise can truly take away discontent within the system of society. Now, democracy here offers two options:

The first is voting on the matter, which results in the needs of the minority compromised, leading to discontent within a section of the society and providing the potential for conflict ( and therefore instability).

The second is the bringing forth of such a point in a demonstration, where the needs and wants of the people are forcibly pushed forward, refusal of such (or worse still, the compromising of the needs of the majority) would again lead to discontent and thereby create potential for conflict.

Are there any other points democracy as a system offers? No, for otherwwise it would result in a compromising of "citizen participation" and voice, and there on lead to a compromising of the democratic system.

Then who can say that democracy can create stability, when it in fact creates instability any way about things? Does anybody here disagree, or have an antithesis?


Bryan Cheong