Democracy promises to address deep divisions more successfully than any alternative, according to Nathan Glazer, a professor of education and sociology emeritus at Harvard University, in his lecture on ‘Democracy in the World’ on 4 November 2009 at the Canadian embassy in Washington, D.C.
Drawing on the experiences of three democracies, the United States, Canada and India, in dealing with deep divides such as race, ethnicity, religion and native languages, three generalizations could be made:
* Free political parties competing for votes, including the votes of minorities, are a key factor in moderating these divides and bringing forth the measures that produce a degree of stability
* High courts being accepted as ultimate arbiters not to be irresponsibly challenged
* The role of positive exceptions to a universal equal rights liberalism that may be necessary to placate or to improve the situation of a disadvantaged and dissatisfied ethnic group
In Canada, where the rising nationalism of the French speaking Quebec province is a long standing issue, multiculturalism is part of the national identity. Unlike the United State’s “melting pot” where different peoples come to mix together, it is a “mosaic”, meaning a country made up of peoples who are allowed to maintain their cultural identities.
All these together with the fact that “Canadian provinces are more powerful than US states” plus “the economic costs of fully divorcing itself from the rest of Canada” had defeated the two passionately contested referendums for secession in 1980 and 1995.
In India, where there are more complexities than Canada: unresolved conflict with Pakistan, ethnic rebellions in the northeast, religious-caste diversities and parties like Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that regards Christians and Muslims as adherents of non-indigenous religions and therefore “cannot be good Indians”, the situation is more of a challenge.
“Yet even in this difficult situation, we see the moderating power of a democratic political system”, he says, giving examples such as:
* Muslims, 12% of the population, have served independent India as president, Supreme Court Justices, high ministers and ambassadors
* “Untouchability” legally banned in the constitution, which was shaped by B.R. Ambedkar, an untouchable himself, among others
* Affirmative action was built into the new constitution from its adoption in 1949
As a result, “the lower castes have been full participants along the way; they vote in higher percentage than do the higher castes.”
India, also unlike the United States but similar to Canada, calls itself a “salad bowl” where each ingredient retains its identity and individual characteristics but becoming better when mixed together according to an Indian scholar.
For more details, please read “Democracy and Deep Divides,” by Nathan Glazer, Journal of Democracy, April 2010, www.journalofdemocracy.org.
