The democratic deficit in the EU
Ane of the fundamental claims of those supporting leaving the European union is that the current arrangements correspond an unacceptable democratic deficit. This is writ large over Boris Johnson's Telegraph article announcing his support of the Leave vote.
To a higher place all, we volition be told that whatever the autonomous deficiencies, nosotros would be better off remaining in because of the "influence" nosotros have. This is less and less persuasive to me…Democracy matters…We have given so much to the world, in ideas and civilization, but the virtually valuable British export and the ane for which we are most famous is the ane that is at present increasingly in question: parliamentary democracy – the way the people express their ability.
This is a one time-in-a-lifetime chance to vote for existent alter in Uk's relations with Europe. This is the just opportunity nosotros will ever have to bear witness that we care about self-rule. A vote to Remain will be taken in Brussels every bit a green light for more federalism, and for the erosion of democracy.
There is a similar line of statement in the declaration by the Justice Secretary Michael Gove.
The ability to choose who governs united states, and the freedom to change laws nosotros do non like, were secured for us in the past by radicals and liberals who took power from unaccountable elites and placed it in the easily of the people. Every bit a result of their efforts we adult, and exported to nations similar the US, India, Canada and Commonwealth of australia a system of democratic cocky-government which has brought prosperity and peace to millions.
Our commonwealth stood the test of fourth dimension. We showed the earth what a gratuitous people could reach if they were allowed to govern themselves.
At that place is no denying the immediate appeal of these position: Britain governed by Britons! But neither is there much denying that such statements are over simplistic, for two major reasons. First, since nosotros live in a globalised economy, we do non and cannot merely 'govern ourselves'. As Werner Jeanrond points out:
Full national sovereignty is and remains impossible in our earth – not just for Britain. The bug associated with, for example, transnational companies, ecology resources, affliction vectors, organised criminal offense cannot be solved by one country…'British laws for British people', every bit the battle cry would like to have it, won't any longer solve many British problems.
Yous only take to think almost the contempo argument about Google'south tax arrangements to see how a 'sovereignty' argument about law is naive in at to the lowest degree ane important regard. But even when thinking nearly issues of national governance, the statement is not quite and so elementary. The organisation of the EU is less an example of loss of sovereignty, and more an example of 'pooled' sovereignty, something which happens in multiple ways through hundreds of treaties governing all aspects of our national life.
Britain is subject field to some 700 international treaties involving multi-lateral submissions to multilateral compromises. Its membership of the UN similarly infringes its self-decision, for it can exist outvoted there only as it can in Brussels. Likewise the WTO, NATO, the COP climate talks, the Imf, the Earth Bank, nuclear test ban treaties and accords on energy, water, maritime police force and air traffic all require Britain to tolerate the sort of trade-offs that Euroscepticsouverainistes find distasteful: influence in exchange for boring standardisation, laws and rules prepare generally past foreigners non elected by Britons (regulations that Britain would not apply, or would employ differently, if left to its own devices). Yet it submits to all of these knowing that, equally with the European union, it is costless to leave whenever it wants—just at a price not worth paying.
For Christians thinking about the EU referendum, one of the challenges here is to think theologically nigh democracy, and it is not a straightforward chore. This is in part because the documents of the Old and New Testaments were written at a time when democracy as we have it at present was simply unknown, and considering there are unlike forms that democracy tin take. In his last edition ofProblems Facing Christians Today (revised in fact past Roy McCloughry), the late John Stott takes a very broad brush approach, locating democracy as a mid-signal between the extremes of autocracy on the one hand and anarchy on the other (pp 38–43). He does this for theological reasons. Autocracy suggests a 'low' theology of humanity, in that people demand to be held in check. Chaos suggests a 'loftier' view of humanity, in that people can be trusted to act well on their own. Democracy sees human being every bit both virtuous and flawed, deserving the freedom to act simply needing systems of ability to keep them in cheque.
Jonathan Chaplin of the Kirby Laing Institute for Christian Ethics offers a more than detailed exploration of possible reasons to believe in commonwealth. He identifies iii main ideas supporting Christian conventionalities in the autonomous procedure.
Christian consent theories hold that both divine and human appointment are required for the establishment of legitimate political potency.
The 2nd and third kinds of justification for democracy are neatly summed up in the two parts of Reinhold Niebuhr's celebrated maxim: 'human'south capacity for justice makes commonwealth possible; but man'southward inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary.' The outset role of this saying expresses the thrust of the participatory theory. This theory endorses the principle of popular election every bit an expression of the man capacity to presume responsibleness for the doing of justice.
In the defensive theory, democracy is justified as a necessary bank check on the inescapable tendency of fallible role-holders to abuse their power: democratic election is ane vital constitutional restraint on the corruption of power.
Chaplin'due south second and tertiary points here correspond to Stott's summary reason, and all three offer a combined justification for democracy as the preferred Christian approach to government.
At that place is, then, a 'cloud of witnesses' in the Christian tradition, the cumulative impact of which is to counsel an embrace of the principle of popular election by Christians today. Indeed I suggest that we need to honour the insights of all three theories and integrate them in a robust Christian business relationship of constitutional democracy.
This still leaves ii big questions to explore: what form should democracy accept? and what is the 'basic unit' of commonwealth when information technology comes to electing representatives? These are the questions raised sharply past the EU referendum. Afterward all, the 'pooling' of sovereignty into a larger balloter area has an touch on in both directions, even if nosotros are but aware of one half of it.
Consider the merchandise-off: let foreigners have some influence over your state of 64m and in return receive quite a lot of influence over a union of more 500m. When Eurosceptics only mention the first one-half of this bargain, they imply that Britain is too weedy to take advantage of the second. Which is odd, as the national strengths they otherwise celebrate requite the country a tremendous ability to exercise so.
And information technology is worth considering the means in which the pooled sovereignty has really afflicted life in Britain, equally illustrated by this affiche produced by the Unite union. I call up information technology rather over claims the role of Europe; after all, we do have our own equality legislation which calls for equal pay for men and women. But information technology is hitting that the European 'intrusions' into British life are all pulling in a 'social democratic' direction, and restricting our unfettered embrace of free market economics. Conservative eurosceptics will blame this process for limiting our economic growth—but in fact these are things that the majority of the population of the United kingdom desire and would vote for, except that, because of our first past the post electoral arrangement and the mode the political parties are divided, we accept e'er ended up withe governments who are to the right of the electorate.
In U.k. today, we accept a centre-left majority who want this to be a country with European-level taxes, European-standard public services and European-level equality. We have had this for a very long time. Even at the height of Thatcherism, 56 per cent of people voted for parties committed to higher taxes and higher spending. But the centre-left vote is split between several parties – while the correct-wing vote clusters effectually the Conservatives.
So the effect of the 'democratic deficit' in Europe that arises from our pooled democracy is to correct the 'autonomous deficit' that nosotros have in our own UK electoral organisation. If you want to eliminate the one, it is surely logical to want to eliminate the other for the same reasons. Membership of the European union has, as it turns out, fabricated us more democratic than we would otherwise take been, and if nosotros get out the Eu, so we volition need to make the correction that Europe has been making for us.
If you lot therefore side with Boris Johnson and Michael Gove in wanting to go out the European union, you lot as well need to side with Colin Buchanan in seeking electoral reform.
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