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The quote “democracy is the worst form of government – except for all the others that have been tried” is attributed to Winston Churchill. Social Scientists of all hues have theorized how democracy can be improved. Folks like me, who have no fancy doctorate, have also made suggestions on how we can improve democracy very often on social media. One suggestion that I recall seeing on multiple occasions in various forms propagates an idea which can broadly be phrased thus, “capital punishment should be awarded for crimes like theft and snatching to improve law and order…”. Notions, although not as drastic as the one stated in the previous sentence have also cropped up in my head from time to time. These have varying levels of specificity regarding how easily they can be implemented or whether serious academic work is required before they are rejected or accepted. I have also blogged on them, one notion at a time. But this is the first time that I am attempting to present them all together at one place. So here are my three suggestions on improving democracy and governance.
- Reimagine taxation to make it a collaborative venture
Taxation is perceived to be coercive. The way tax enforcement works gives rise to anxiety among many. What if this could change. What if a citizen who files tax returns – even if it is a zero tax liability return – could make her preference regarding how she wants her tax contribution to be spent by the government in the same return, known. What also if the government in its tax acknowledgement informs the citizen how the overall tax collected has been utilized by the government through a pie chart. Note that such pie charts already exist on the Government of India’s budget website – https://www.indiabudget.gov.in/doc/Budget_at_Glance/budget_at_a_glance.pdf. The presentation may improve quite significantly though. This is something well within the means and resources of our government and atleast has face validity. In any case this will be a step towards transparency and participative governance.
2. Develop Artificial Intelligence (AI) to analyze serious complaints and grievances particularly against public services
It is my case that many complainants on social media are like social auditors. They point out deficiencies in delivery of services, often public services. If they bring out a serious underlying issue, it should be taken note of, not only by the concerned authority but by the larger political and executive machinery. At the same time, not all social media rants deserve attention. Can we use AI to identify serious issues with a high degree of confidence? Particularly when chatbots like ChatGPT are amply demonstrating their capabilities, isn’t it well within the capabilities of our scientific establishment to create their own intelligent program for the purpose.
3. Research what it would take to make justice more equal
This is an area where I feel the need for thought leaders, researchers and prominent academics of the world to provide us with their insights. A lot of discussion has happened around the relative merit of markets and how free they should be, the role of the government in providing public goods, free-trade versus protectionism, socialism versus capitalism etc., but the work around system of equal justice for all irrespective of their socio-economic condition appears rather thin, notwithstanding the fact that those who are economically or politically privileged have access to superior legal advice and are able to play for, among other things, time. The field is simply not level. Equal justice is something that finds an exalted place in the Ramayana as Ram Rajya. Should not “equal justice” be researched particularly by the Indian academia. In any case, we should be better informed about what it would take to create such a system, and whether at all it is possible.
Finally I have no pretense of being an intellectual and wish not to step on any academic or executive or bureaucratic toes, but I like reading and that provokes thoughts.
These pieces are being published as they have been received – they have not been edited/fact-checked by ThePrint.