Advancing Australia by Consensus

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Democracy Never Lasts Long

“Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide. It is in vain to say that democracy is less vain, less proud, less selfish, less ambitious, or less avaricious than aristocracy or monarchy. It is not true, in fact, and nowhere appears in history. Those passions are the same in all men, under all forms of simple government, and when unchecked, produce the same effects of fraud, violence, and cruelty. When clear prospects are opened before vanity, pride, avarice, or ambition, for their easy gratification, it is hard for the most considerate philosophers and the most conscientious moralists to resist the temptation.”
- John Adams, second President of the USA, in an 1814 letter to John Taylor

 

“Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch.”
- unknown, incorrectly attributed to Benjamin Franklin

 

Democracy, as we understand it in the West, is fatally flawed. Democracy is proudly touted as ‘rule by the majority’, arguing that it is superior to ‘rule by one’ as in a dictatorship or old-style monarchy. Yet unrecognised by most is that this very principle in fact creates division. 51-49 is not agreement but two equal-sized opposing camps, while 70-30 is broad agreement or consensus.

 

True Government

True government, where everyone is in broad agreement, pre-dates not only democracy as we know it today but the democracy we associate with 5th Century BC Athens. True government can be found in hunter-gatherer societies to this day, where no one — including any leader — has extra say in decision making.

True government is better for modern societies because it is cheaper and more empowering than current forms of government.

The following story describes how true government works in the Yolngu communities of Northern Territory, Australia. It is reproduced verbatim, with permission, from the novel The Lost Track by author Kato Rivera.

 

On Consensus

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Although the bunggul would continue for a week, after three days George announced, without further explanation, that Tony and Raymaring would be returning to Galiwin’ku. One of the men drove them to the airport and they boarded the Elcho plane. When it touched down, they waited for a while and, eventually, a ute pulled up to drive them into town.

Tony walked quickly to the caravan where Therese and Djoymi had been sleeping and grabbed little Elizabeth with delight. Later, he told Therese all that had happened. Their reunion was interrupted by the arrival of several old men who had walked over from Bottom Camp, and one of them was Ngulpurray who had visited them in Darwin. “Nhami Morulko? Tony greeted.

It was immediately apparent that these old men were fully up to date with developments in Yirrkala, because one of them said to Tony in formal tones “Waku, Nulamung Munyarryun, we want you to come over to our house so we can talk to you.”

Reluctantly, Tony handed little Elizabeth back to her mother and then joined the small throng as they walked slowly to the northern-most part of the town’s housing. There, close to the cliff by the sea, they joined several other old men sitting in the sand behind a modern home.

Ngulupurray spoke first. “We want to tell you about how Yolngu made decisions before white people came here.”

Willi Walalipa added “People are forgetting how to do this because the missionaries and government are pushing us to make decisions in whitefella-style councils. Two years ago we had to elect a town council, then the missionaries wanted us to form a Mala Leaders Council (tribe leaders council), which is not how we do things. And we now hear that government wants a new kind of council. This means all decisions are being made by a small group of people. This is not good.”

Another man elaborated. “Before balanda arrived in Arnhem Land, if a situation occurred that needed a decision made, this always involved a certain place in our country, and every place where we go bears a name. And there is always somebody whose birth spirit name is the name of this place. Our law, our Rom, proclaims that that person is the only one who can commence discussions about that place.

“By custom, after breakfast, this is the usual time the consensus person first raises this issue. This is the signal for everybody else to discuss it.

“After hours or days or weeks, by listening and watching, the consensus person eventually considers that everybody has drawn the same conclusion and he cautiously announces this consensus, all the time watching for any signs that somebody does not agree. This might be an old man staring up at the branches of a tree, or his knee bobbing up and down. If he observes any such indication of conflict, he announces that discussion must continue.

“Eventually, consensus is achieved and his announcement of this is greeted warmly by everybody.

“And that is how Yolngu ensured that every man, woman, and child was able to participate in decision-making. This meant that there was never any conflict or remorse about the decision. But today, with town councils, Mala leaders’ councils, and land council representatives, and government decisions, the people’s voices are no longer heard’.

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Australian True Government

This concept of true government is incredibly appealing. Decision making would be more local and would require fewer people to implement, making governance cheaper and more effective.

The purpose of this site is to map a path to true government.