Session 7- Democracy Synonymous with Elitism?

After reading the first page of this session’s reading, I don’t know whether its shocking or funny, it hit me that Pakistan’s so called “democratically elected” political scenario does not match any of the given meanings attached to the word “democracy.” What’s even more alarming is that the educated class of the country is not even bothered to fix this paradox present in the definition of democracy.

The first point made in this reading is that democracy is the system of rule by the poor and disadvantage. This was also the view of the famous Greek philosopher, Aristotle who supported this claim.  However, there hasn’t been a single time in the history of Pakistan that whenever democracy has trumped, poor and disadvantaged people have come to power. It’s always been the elites who have dominated the democratic arena. From the influential Bhutto family to the Sharif family, democracy has been ridiculed in Pakistan. The practical application of democracy in regards to Pakistan is majorly the Elitist view, which supports my views mentioned earlier on.

Anthony Downs came up with the “economic theory of democracy,” whereby he claimed that the electorate cab decide which elite rules but cannot change the fact that power is always exercised by the elite. So in reality basically, its always the elites who dominate democracy, the poor and disadvantaged are left struggling here also, and in the end they are left with no choice, but to vote for the elites running for power.