The Lack of Faith in Democracy in Australia - Literature review Example

Thе lасk of faith in dеmосrасy Name Institution Thе lасk of faith in dеmосrасy Introduction Democracy entails the rule of the majority and a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people. The power is also exercised by the people either directly or indirectly through a system of representation that could be made possible through free elections. Just as any other form of governance, democracy is associated with some benefits as well as drawbacks and it is upon those involved to embrace the benefits while at the same time effectively managing the drawbacks as a way of getting the best out of it. In most parts of the globe, people or the citizens have lost or are in the verge of losing faith in democracy and Australia is not an exception. This is a move that is influenced by many factors that in one way or the other make the people feel that their expectations on democracy are not met. There are many issues facing the contemporary democracy and should be handled effectively as a way of ensuring that democracy is respected and observed and the citizens do not in any way lose hope in it. In the recent past, support and faith in democracy in Australia is on a decline and most citizens do not care much with regard to what major party is in government as they think it does not matter. This piece of paper will give an in depth discussion on the concept of democracy and various aspects associated with it. Much emphasis will however be given on the lack of faith in democracy, as it is experienced in Australia. To indicate why and the manner in which the lack of faith is an issue, aspects such as business power, voter apathy, bank tax, tax law, wages growth and mining tax will be highlighted. Additionally, the effects of the lack of faith in democracy on the contemporary democracy will also be examined. Lack of faith in democracy in Australia Lack of faith in democracy is a major issue with regard to contemporary democracy in Australia. Despite the fact that democracy is generally a positive aspect that is desired by many, it is faced with a variety of challenges and hence the need for measures meant at upholding it to the highest level possible. According to The New Daily (2014), the Australians are losing faith in democracy. Most of them think that it does not matter the major party that is in government, an aspect that translates to a considerable decline in support for democracy in the recent past. Results of a study carried out by the Australian National University (ANU) in conjunction with the Social Research Centre revealed a decline in satisfaction with democracy among the Australia citizens, with a drop from 86 percent in 2007 to 72 percent in 2014. Consequently, the number of citizens who believed that it matters which party is in power dropped from 68 percent to 43 percent within this period. This statistics shows considerable decline when it comes to faith in democracy in Australia. Despite the fact that the Australian democracy still enjoys great levels of support compared to overseas, loss of belief in a meaningful vote (which is a significant indicator of the health of a democracy) is evident among the Australians. This could be as a result of many factors such as the people having quite high and unrealistic expectation on democracy. The system of democratic government seems to be in trouble. The stories that go around with respect to campaign donations as well as the use of travel entitlements are a depiction of the public’s view of just one element of Australian’s fundamental questioning of the version of the western democratic project (Isakhan & Slaughter, 2014). For more than ten years, the Lowy Institute has been participating in carrying out polls on a yearly basis to check on the Australian attitudes with respect to various issues that concern national importance. Bartos (2015) states that in 2014; only around 60 percent of the total population in Australia agreed that democracy is preferable to any other form of government. Among these, only 42 per cent of youths, between 18 and 29 years of age agreed on the same. This indicates that a good number of individuals effectively disagreed with democracy and the values contained therein. Nonetheless, it is worth noting that the attitudes may change with time. For example, in 2015, the results from the poll were slightly better. 65 percent of the eligible voters and 49 percent of youths now agreed with the fact that democracy is preferable. It is however clear that the level of acceptance is not that pleasing and there is still a lot that needs to be done if satisfaction is a factor of consideration. The slight improvement is positive but nothing that calls for celebration. This is more so since still fewer than half of the youths were for democratic form of government. There are also some people who are of the opinion that it does not matter the type of government that ruled. Generally, a considerable number of Australians and many of them being young people have no or little faith in democracy as a form of governance in the country. There is also an increased number of youths who either fail to enrol, vote or decide to vote informally (Martin, 2010). Oliver (2014) agrees with the above findings after evaluating the results of a study carried out by the Lowy Institute of the attitudes of the population towards democracy in Fiji, Indonesia, India and Australia. The use of different countries was to get comprehensive results thorough analysis and comparison. The results indicated that Australians were less supportive of democracy compared to the people of India and Indonesia, both of whom are newer democracies. Only 60 percent of the eligible voters in Australia would prefer democracy to another form of government. About a quarter asserted that in some instances, a non-democratic government would be better. Additionally, 15 percent indicated that it did not matter what type of government that was in power. The results were not better when the youths were involved in the poll and it showed even lesser faith in their democracy. Holland, Pyman, Cooper, and Teicher (2011) assert that lack of faith in democracy in Australia is not something to be ignored as its effects are evident. The governments of Rudd-Gillard-Rudd was associated with instability and the Abbott government ought to have been a positive force and bring about renewed political confidence, an aspect that did not happen and hence less satisfaction among the citizens. A considerable number of people in Australia do not believe in democracy as the best form of government. This is derived from the belief that as opposed to serving the interests of the majority, democracy in the nation serves vested interests. When a political system does not work as expected, there is no doubt that people become frustrated and they desire a change of the same. Business power is also an essential aspect when it comes to the concept of democracy. The level to which business has structural power of the Australian government can be understood from different perspectives. There is a fundamental interdependence between business and the Australian government. For instance, from a monetary perspective, the Australian government largely depend on business activities for survival. On the other hand, the government plays a supportive role for the businesses. The interdependence between the two tends to counterbalance the power forces that are shared between the business and government sectors. In most cases, neither business nor government is in a position to get all it needs from the other. According to Tanner (2011), business and government influence each other in different ways. An example is whereby business tends to enjoy favourable parliamentary structure. The parliamentary system of Australia is structured in a manner that it favours businesses. Business is essential to the success of a political democracy and owns and controls much of the economy. Tax and democracy are related. Some people and organizations feel offended when taxes are imposed on them regardless of the reasons or the expected results. According to Mutascu (2011), there has been a range of tax reforms in Australia, an aspect that have been received differently by various parties. While individuals and institutions widely complain about the level of tax they pay, there is the aspect of desiring and expecting the effective and efficient delivery of government goods and services. In some instances, imposing is thought as the only way out to allowing for effective provision and delivery of various services to the general public. In Australia, the largest portion of the government revenues got from taxation is spent on various aspects depending on their importance and how they affect the citizens. For instance, social security and welfare has an allocation of around $154 billion while health is at about $69 billion. Education has an allocation of around $32 billion while defence gets approximately $26 billion. Some of the chief sources of tax revenue are personal income tax at $194 billion, company and resource rent tax at $71 billion and sales tax at $62 billion. There is also some non-tax revenue at around $25 billion (York, 2016). To a great extent, taxation is equated to representation. In as much as taxation could be for a good course for instance enhancing service delivery, it is more often than not received negatively by those affected as it means an extra burden. Voter apathy is a relevant issue in the discussion of the concept of democracy. Harris, Wyn and Younes (2010) assert that voting is an essential practice of the political process in a democratic form of governance. Nonetheless, it is worth noting that most people may consider not voting even if they have the right and time to do so. Voter apathy happens when eligible voters do not participate in public elections for various reasons. In some instances, voters may be disillusioned with the politicians or political process in general. The outcome is that when very few individuals vote, it means that the elected politicians do not represent the values and beliefs of the general population. Voter apathy could be equated to political depression whereby individuals feel helpless and not in a position to influence essential events. Voter apathy in Australia can be understood by examining it against the disengagement debate. About 20 percent of eligible voters in Australia made a decision not to participate in the last federal election by failing to enrol as voters, not showing up during voting or even voting informally. Various reasons could be linked to this but there is also a probability that they are not apathetic but they feel that the political system leaves them out (The New Daily, 2014). Lack of faith in the political systems and not seeing a bright future makes people lose hope such that they do not see the need to vote for a government that may not have positive impact on them in the present as well as in the future. Wages growth can also be an indicator of the state of democracy in different nations and Australia in particular. Jericho (2017) asserts that when wages grow and the rights of the public or citizens are well represented, it is a form a democracy and they feel that they have a voice. For instance, the 2017 budget is seen to be a labor-lite. This is more so since the budget raises tax revenue instead of cutting their way to surplus. The most labour-like aspect of the budget could be seen in the hope for a wages breakout since without a large jump with regard to wages growth, it is not possible to achieve the longed for budget surplus. The liberal party supports strong wage growth in terms of a wages breakout. Budget surplus is as a result of an increase in income tax revenue, which could in turn be a contribution of a boost in wages growth and an increase in the Medicare levy. Bank tax could also be used to gauge the state of democracy in a given nation. According to The Conversion (2017), mining tax is also a good element when it comes to determining the state of democracy of a country or a population. The budget issue affects the banks in different ways. The big banks are not pleased at the new tax on them, which is meant at raising more than A$6 billion as a way of making the budget better. The move is also done in line with measures that in one way or the other force better behaviour and assist individuals who have been treated wrongly to get redress. It is noteworthy that the fight against labour’s mining tax is also an issue of concern. The seizing of the mining tax by the then-opposition to flay labour played an essential role in strengthening the hand of the miners. In the event that the government and the opposition are on the same lane with respect to tax, it is considerably difficult for the affected sector to attain political leverage. The fact that various bodies and sectors are not given a chance to voice their concerns and instead things are forced on them is not a good sign of democratic ruling. This can be seen in the taxes imposed on various units such as the banks as a way of making the budget better. Levy increase on labour is also an example whereby tax revenue is raised. The requirement that every working Australian pays a higher rate of tax is an aspect that has not been received well by those involved. Conclusion From the above discussion, it is apparent that democracy is something that is desired by many and one that ought to be maintained at the highest possible level. It is however worth noting that contemporary democracy is faced with a variety of challenges. Lack of faith in democracy is for example a major issue in the Australian context. There are various reasons as to why people may lack faith in certain governance for instance the feeling that their influence is not valued and that their rights as citizens are not fulfilled. Some may not see a future in the governance. Voter apathy is one element that characterizes the lack of faith among a given population. Here, eligible voters may effectively or intentionally decide not to enrol for voting, choose not to show up during the voting or even vote informally. At some point, the people feel that their vote will not count and hence do not see the need to exercise their voting right. What is more depressing is that even the youths in Australia are not so much in support of the idea of democracy. There is therefore a need for an evaluation of democracy and consideration of various citizen’s rights and opinions as a way of enhancing satisfaction and faith of the population towards democracy and governance as a whole. Ceding control to independent agencies and opening to scrutiny is one way through which voters may trust public institutions. References Harris, A., Wyn, J., & Younes, S. (2010). Beyond apathetic or activist youth: ‘Ordinary ‘young people and contemporary forms of participation. Young, 18(1), 9-32. Holland, P., Pyman, A., Cooper, B. K., & Teicher, J. (2011). Employee voice and job satisfaction in Australia: The centrality of direct voice. Human Resource Management, 50(1), 95-111. Isakhan, B., & Slaughter, S. (Eds.). (2014). Democracy and Crisis: Democratising Governance in the Twenty-First Century. New York: Springer. Jericho, G. (2017). Can we trust the budget figures on wages growth? My eyebrow is raised. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/may/11/can-we-trust-the-budget-figures-on-wages-growth-my-eyebrow-is-raised Martin, A. (2010). Does political trust matter? Examining some of the implications of low levels of political trust in Australia. Australian Journal of Political Science, 45(4), 705-712. Mutascu, M. (2011). Taxation and democracy. Journal of Economic Policy Reform, 14(4), 343-348. Oliver, A. (2014). Are Australians disenchanted with democracy? Parliament of Australia. Retrieved from http://www.aph.gov.au/~/~/link.aspx?_id=01FD7901F7E14E9A86A44F9C217BFEC6&_z=z Tanner, L. (2011). Sideshow: Dumbing down democracy. Melbourne: Scribe. The Conversion (2017). Banks may squeal about new tax but they are outgunned. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/banks-may-squeal-about-new-tax-but-they-are-outgunned-77511 The New Daily (2014). Over it: why we’re losing faith in democracy. Retrieved from http://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2014/08/11/114381/ York, B. (2016). Death, taxes.....and democracy. Retrieved from https://moadoph.gov.au/blog/death-taxes-and-democracy/ Read More