Rebuttal: As good as the voters

Rebuttal to Opposition 1
Yi Yan
While I agree that practical implementation does affect whether democracy creates stability, it is more likely that in such unstable democracies, the instability comes from the fact that the people are not voting for what is best for themselves, which is what a democratic political system would assume. After all, isn’t a democracy only as good as its people? That is a point I would concede.

In the case of Sri Lanka, we see that the Sinhalese, by voting in a discriminatory government, are not voting for what is best for themselves. By voting for such a government who discriminates against the Tamils, they are causing the Tamils to be angry and dissatisfied. We are familiar with what happened next – riots and general social turmoil. Because the Sinhalese were influenced by racial politics and voted badly, their choices brought about social instability, which could have been avoided if they had voted for a better government.

George Bernard Shaw famously claimed that, “Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve.” Stability can only come about if the citizens vote properly, and what I am arguing for is the fact that democracy has the potential to bring about stability provided that the people vote wisely.