Flying Sand | There’s more to democracy than government – the fight for fairness begins in the workplace
Grim death toll from industrial accidents in Hong Kong shows that those preaching democracy need to cast their net wider in pursuit of justice
I hate to mention the D-word as it tends to generate more heat than light, especially in Hong Kong where it has become for some a synonym for nirvana.
I am of course talking about democracy, an exalted notion that has been with us since ancient Greece yet has only been able to muster in its defence as a system of government the argument that it isn’t as bad as all the rest. Not exactly a ringing endorsement.
Before I am labelled, tarred and feathered as an anti-democratic apologist for the one-party state, let me explain.
Whether the question be who needs it and why, when they need it and in what form, or how it should be dispensed, the jewel in the crown of democratic desire is a vote – a cross on a piece of paper once every four years or so. That so many knickers have got themselves into so much of a twist in pursuit of such a morsel has always struck me as strange.
On one level and one level only – be it local or central government – we demand, not unreasonably, the right to hold accountable those who make the policy decisions that affect our lives. If they aren’t up to the job, we can vote them out. That’s it, democracy all wrapped up, thanks and goodnight.
