The political philosopher Robert Tallese wrote the following very relevant meditation just before our elections in March and the US elections of November 3. Democracy is hard work. If it is to function well, citizens must do a lot of thinking and talking about politics. But democracy is demanding in another way as well. It requires us to maintain a peculiar moral posture toward our fellow citizens. We must acknowledge that they’re our equals and thus entitled to an equal say, even when their views are severely misguided. It seems a lot to ask.
To appreciate the demand’s weight, consider that a citizen’s duty is to promote justice. Accordingly, we tend to regard our political opposition as being not merely on the wrong side of the issues, but on an unjust side. Citizens of a democracy must pursue justice while also affirming that their fellow citizens are entitled to equal power even when they favour injustice. What’s more, citizens are obligated to acknowledge that, under certain conditions, it is right for Government to enact their Opposition’s will. This looks like a requirement to be complicit with injustice. That’s quite a burden.
To be sure, the demand is not altogether unconstrained. For one thing, citizens need not respect every kind of political opponent. Although the boundaries are contested, there are limits to what counts as a valid political opinion. For example, citizens aren’t required to respect those who call for the absolute subordination of one portion of the citizenry to another.
Although these consolations may make the moral demand of citizenship more bearable, it remains onerous. When it comes to debates over crucial matters like health care, taxation and immigration, there are several valid yet opposed opinions, many of which will strike some citizens as unacceptable. When such views prevail, Government is right to implement them, despite the fact that many citizens assess them as unjust. Democracy gives an equal voice even to citizens who favour injustice, even after an electoral or policy defeat.
Put simply, it is not easy to regard those who promote injustice as one’s equals, rather than as obstacles to nullify. However, this awkward posture is fundamental to the democratic enterprise. If we give it up, we cede the idea of self-government among equals to a view of politics as, at best, a cold civil war. Perhaps democracy simply asks too much of us. Though tempting, this conclusion is hasty.
The lesson for citizens is clear. To sustain the moral posture that democracy demands, we must refuse to see partisan affiliation as the defining trait of our fellow citizens. Alas, this is easier said than done. As I document in “Overdoing Democracy”, politics has infiltrated the whole of social life. Not only do we increasingly interact only with those who share our politics, we also have become more prone to take those who are politically unlike ourselves to be irredeemably depraved, benighted, and dangerous. By placing our partisan identities at the centre of nearly everything we do, we have eroded the conditions under which we can regard our fellow citizens as our equals. As a result, democracy is swiftly devolving.
The proper response is to participate in cooperative endeavours in which partisan identity is irrelevant. Activities of this kind are needed, not because we must be perpetually reaching across our political divides, but rather because if we are to perform well as democratic citizens, we need to see in our fellow citizens something beyond partisan affiliation, something like a common quest to live a valuable life.
In short, democracy needs us to acknowledge that there’s more to our shared life than politics. This acknowledgement does not neutralise the conflict at the heart of democratic citizenship — we still must bear the burden of our fellow citizens’ equality. But it does help us to navigate that conflict in a way that is consistent with a commitment to a robustly democratic society.
Our Guyaneseness must go beyond our politics.
