CLEISTHENES

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CLEISTHENES was one of the earliest political philosophers in the Athens city state of Greece in 500BC. He postulated the idea of Athens form of democracy ( direct/classical democracy), which pioneered the contemporary form of democracy across the globe.

The quest for knowledge about the motive behind democracy, proponents/commentator of democracy, practice of democracy, gains and the pains of democracy led me to search and to discover the personality of CLEISTHENES, as well as the ideas of other prominent commentators on the subject of democracy.

Democracy in content and in context projects the people as the government. By implication, it is meant to be the government absolutely presided over by the people. In the Grecian etymology of words, “Demo” & “Kratia” connotatively mean “people” & “government” respectively. In other words, the compound word means, the government of the people. CLEISTHENES appealed to the mind of Athens populace with these words “demo” and “Kratia”; John Locke in his professorial political theory of 16th century also made a strong assertion and advocacy for democracy, but in a modernized and sophisticated format. Abraham Lincoln in the 18th century also commented on the subject of democracy as the government of the people. In the real sense of it, is democracy truly the government of the people? I choose not to go the path of affirmation.

MOTIVE BEHIND DEMOCRACY

The motive behind democracy lies within the confines of human faculty of psycho-socialism. At it inception, the urge of CLEISTHENES to secure political relevance birth his idea of democracy in 500BC. The only way he could appealed to the psycho-emotional state of minds of the Athens populace, was to coined out a political philosophy that woo and won the minds of the people. Democracy as a new political order was massively accepted and supported among the Greeks because it appealed to their sense of belonging. Adults who were males were accorded the status of political policymakers (adult male suffrage, even the female folks were disenfranchised), what a faulty foundation?. Without much persuasion, the neighbouring Sparta also adopted the system of democracy. CLEISTHENES must have done a great research on human psychology to have discovered human weak point, which he used to his own advantage. Little does the people knew the fact that the approval and disapproval of any policy they make is subject to the absolute power of the emperor ( the rulling class), where is then the democracy?. The same trend still goes on in this dispensation of democracy, it is a fact that a larger percentage of elected representatives in the modern democracy are from the rulling class (bourgeoisie). These elements find their way into the minds of innocent citizens either through reserved kind gesture, money bags, propaganda or through the use of threat/force to secure the maximum support of the unwilling masses during an election. It is however very rare to see the common man winning in an election, especially in Africa where I reside. The motive behind democracy is self-projection, self-centeredness and absolute quest for political power. CLEISTHENES motive was to secure political relevance for himself by indulging his myopic followers in an unconscious state of self-delusion which was masked by democracy. In my own world (Africa), democracy is the government of privileged few, by the privileged few and for the privileged few. It is never the government of the people, because people lacks absolute power in the real world of it.

GAINS OF DEMOCRACY:

The only known popular gain of democracy is the psycho-social effects it has on human minds. The Western commentators have given democracy a very beautiful regalia of honour and acceptability such that even the rational minds got carried away from the faculty of critical analysis. 1. It is said to be the government of the people during election, but after the election, it becomes government of the few that determine the fate of the masses, without consulting the masses ( plebiscites/referendum becomes so insignificant to adopt). 2. Freedom of speech/press, this is fast becoming a mirage where government undermine the freedom of people to voice out their pains and discontent with the unlawful government activities especially in Africa. 3. Popular participation, this only exist during election, the few chosen elites in government never subscribed to the inclusiveness of the general masses in the governance after election. This caught across the global democracy. 4. Judicial independence, Nigeria my country is far from this reality, even in the Western world where democracy still looks good in black suits, justice are still perverted to please the elites. Democracy appeals to the minds of the people (masses), because it gives them opportunity to choose in-between the devil and the demon. But to the governing elites, democracy opens to them, the mountains of treasures and the springs of endless flow of milk and honey. Nigeria on my mind. CLEISTHENES masked the gains of democracy to plunge the world into a mischievous political ideology that has the face of the masses and the mind of oligarchy.

PAIN OF DEMOCRACY:

The pains of democracy is more felt in Africa, where the rulling class (bourgeoisie) see political power as birth right and are unwilling to relinquish power from the elite circle. This of course buttressed the underlying motive of CLEISTHENES, he was from the rulling class of the ancient Athens city of Greece, he coveted and gained political relevance by appealing to the minds of the people through the ideology of democracy. Democracy was not originated because of CLEISTHENES’s love for the people, it was a product of self-projection, and this was fully actualized by CLEISTHENES during his era. In the real world, only the Masses feel the pains of democracy; under the pretentious believe of guarantee for fundamentals human rights, the rights of the Masses are denied and subjugated across the world of democracy. Under democracy, justice is perverted in favour of the rich under the pretence classified diplomatic order. Politically motivated sabotage of harmless peaceful demonstration of the Masses against unfriendly policies of government, unhealthy political campaigns, blackmail, character assassination undertones by selfishness and undue self-projection on the part of the political gladiators, political sycophancy, tribal war, social unrest propagation of lies and falsehood, political indiscipline, corruption and intentional disrespect for national interest; are some of the pains of democracy of the 21st century.

In summary, going by the antecedence of CLEISTHENES postulation of democracy, I consider democracy as an offshoot of oligarchy, where the few privileged, noble, rich and powerful people controls the affairs of the state with little or no recourse to the masses. John Locke beautified democracy has the choicest Princess to ascend the throne of her ancestors, but the practice of democracy in the real world has shown that it is not better than having hypocrisy seated on the throne. Democracy is the deception that has gained more patronage through ages even till now. It is a form of oligarchy that wears the mask admired by the Masses.