All my life, I have believed, like a faithful adherent to religion, that while there are peaks and valleys in the fight against electoral corruption that we were inexorably moving forward to a fairer, more representative form of democracy.
I was an optimist, I guess you could say. A true believer in the power of the people. Unfortunately, there has never been a law or regulation disreputable politicians have not found a way to get around.
Money, of course, has always been the problem.
It has been argued democracy has existed in human society for millennia. Within well-bonded tribes with a common interest, it makes sense that an informal system of seeking consensus for the benefit of the group would develop.
It also makes sense that within those types of tribes, the strongest, the most intelligent, the best providers, might curry more favour. Hence politics.
Not all tribes would be blessed with benevolent leaders, however. In others, the most manipulative, the most psychotic, the most dangerous individuals could override the best interests of the group for their own benefit. Hence tyranny.
In either case, those at the top would accumulate more than those at the bottom and increase their influence.
This would then go on until, for example, the French Revolution. Then the people who liberated the wealth (or stole it, depending on your point of view) would have their turn in the driver’s seat.
Democracy, as we know it today, is a relatively modern concept. One person, one vote, still doesn’t exist in many parts of the world. In many of the parts where it does, it is meaningless.
Canada started out as a democracy, but we would do well to remember what that meant in 1867. Voting was restricted to men over the age of 21 with property.
Money was power.
And while we tinkered with the idea early on of suffrage for women, the idea was restricted to single women with property (i.e., widows or spinsters with inheritances) and didn’t happen until 1916 when the vote was extended to war widows, women serving overseas, and women with family serving overseas.
Over the first half of the 20th century, there were many restrictions to eligibility. Women received full suffrage in 1918.
It wasn’t until 1948 that the last vestiges of the property qualification were erased and conscientious objectors to Canada’s involvement in wars did not qualify until 1955. Universal suffrage did not occur until 1960 when the restriction on indigenous people living on reserve was finally lifted.
It is a fascinating and complicated history, but suffice it to say, at every point along the way, people of privilege and influence have fought to maintain their advantage in selecting the government and aspiring politicians have sought to curry favour with those people.
Throughout our history corruption has abounded from Sir John A. MacDonald’s Pacific Scandal to Stephen Harper’s Duffygate.
Money is still power.
To his credit Stephen Harper did get corporate and union money out of elections, at least directly. Unfortunately, he also got public money out of elections and introduced the Canadian version of political action committees (PAC).
PACs are basically third party special interest groups that are not restricted by the same rules as political parties, but are often loosely affiliated.
Harper seemingly may have regretted letting that genie out of the lamp. Fearful of pre-election spending by anti-Conservative third parties, he called the longest election in modern history counting on his party’s superior war chest to carry him to another term.
Fortunately, it did not work this time. Unfortunately, south of the border we are again seeing the negative influence of money on democracy.
The Liberals have promised they will tinker with our system to make it better. It could happen, but I’m not holding my breath.
Whatever they do, money will find a way to undermine the progress.
