No need to engage in argument; let us look at the facts.
The only country in the World who practices direct democracy is Switzerland.
It is the only one because it is the only one who practices direct democracy in all levels of government; the local level, the regional (canton) level (Swiss cantons are like the states in the US or Australia, the Canadian Provinces, the German Landers or the Spanish Autonomous Regions, but with more power than any of them), the Swiss also practice direct democracy at the national level.
You can only say a country practices direct democracy if it does so in all levels of government.
In some countries they have direct democracy at the local and regional level, for example, the US, but in the US they do not have direct democracy at the national level. Given that the national federal government of the US is, by far, the most powerful government, it is obvious the US has no direct democracy.
Direct democracy is expanding slowly only because the politicians of representative democracies, and the elites dislike losing power, even if their loss of power would make the country more stable, more prosperous. They resist because if they lose power now, they will lose money, profits, privileges; for most humans, immediate benefits are more important than long-term benefits.
For whatever reason the Swiss people insisted, because of another pandemic, that they wanted direct democracy to decide themselves any issue or law they want to decide.
At first the Swiss elites resisted also; they did not want to give the final decision-making power to ordinary people, but the people insisted. The result is that, for almost two centuries, the Swiss have direct democracy. Today, even the Swiss politicians and the economic elite are very proud of the Swiss system.
Swiss politicians also enjoy more credibility with voters than the politicians of any representative democracy.
The Swiss elites with money also love the Swiss system now; they are safer than any other elite. Rich people have discovered that the people, when they have power to decide issues, they use their power judiciously. In a direct democracy, voters do not go for demagogues of the Right, the Left, or in-between. Swiss voters know they bear responsibility for what happens in the country and to the country. In Switzerland, voters know they can not play the “blame the politicians” game, voters play in representative democracies.
Direct democracy has turned Switzerland into the most stable, most democratic country in the World, ignore the “rankings” that circulate in the Web placing Switzerland behind a few representative democracies.
How do I know Switzerland is the most stable country in the World?, easy, where do wealthy people from all over the World keep their “emergency money”, “their just in case money”?, in Switzerland.
You hear about some crooked dictators hiding their money in Swiss bank accounts, that is true, some do. But you do not hear that many more wealthy people from many representative democracies, even the most prosperous ones, also have a substantial amount of money in Switzerland. Most of them do not hide it, they keep their hard-earned money, most of it earned legally, in Switzerland because in Switzerland their money is safer than anywhere else!
Interesting, eh?, that many members of the same elites who do not seem too eager to have direct democracy in your country, certainly do not push for direct democracy, like to keep their most important money in Switzerland.
Direct democracy is better democracy, is more democracy and also makes voters more responsible. Therefore Swiss voters support lower taxes than representative democracies. They have created one of the friendliest environments for entrepreneurs. But, at the same time, it is a socially responsible direct democracy. For example, the Swiss enjoy the best UNIVERSAL health care system in the World.
Judging by the performance of the country, the swiss must also have the best education system; never mind the PISA results about student accomplishments in the theoretical world of the classroom.
It is also because of political stability (perhaps Swiss chocolate is a factor also!) that many of the major World institutions have their headquarters in Switzerland.
The Swiss do not send their soldiers to die in many crazy wars either. Swiss voters are much more careful than the politicians in representative democracies before deciding this or that issue is worth dying for.
If Germany had learned direct democracy from its smaller, but wiser, neighbour to the South, they would not have engaged in the mess of the First World War, nor Hitler would have come to power, nor the rest of the madness would have happened; they still can, they still haven’t.
Conclusion: If the wealthy of your country are smart, they will push for direct democracy, they will prefer to live in a country where they do not need elaborate security, where they do not have to live in “rich people reserves” (that is what the “gated” neighborhoods are in many ways), where they do not have to worry about political turmoil.
It is interesting isn’t it?, that the country on Earth with the least political conflict is the country where the people have the most power.
Wise rich people, not politically stupid rich people, know that if the will of most ordinary voters prevails, because they have the final say on any key issue, such voters do not do foolish things or elect foolish, or worse, politicians.
So, rich, middle class, working class, or poor, you have a lot of good to gain, and a lot of bad to shed, if your country adopts Swiss-style direct democracy.
Victor Lopez
