Democracy or Autocracy?

India is the world’s largest democracy and arguably the strongest. It is a very good political system, distributing the powers into multiple hands, ensuring that demagogues are not created. It has been said … and proven … that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Take a look at what absolute power has done to people over the centuries … Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, Castro, Pol Pot, Saddam Hussain, the list is endless and history is full of stories of people who took absolute power into their own hands and ended up reviled by the entire world.

But let us for a moment turn the argument on its head. Apart from a form of governance, and a good one at that, because of dissolution of power among the many, where does democracy really exist? Let us take industry first. There is a definite hierarchy, with the CEO or the Managing Director as the boss. It is his or her writ that governs the working of the organisation. Sure, there are other members in the management, the shareholders, who have a say, and a host of other checks and balances. But it is ONE person who takes the call … and the blame. Take Steve Jobs or Bill Gates or Richard Branson or in our own backyard Vijay Mallya or Narayana Murthy or the Ambanis, Tatas, Birlas and Goenkas.

Despite the organisation structure, despite the shareholders, despite everything, it is the man sitting at the top of the totem pole who has to take the call on the way forward. Democracy is one sure way of stifling progress in an organisation. The man at the top has the vision. He can see way into the future and has a definite road map in mind. He knows where the company is or should be headed and how to get there. And he is the one steering the ship through troubled waters. Others in the organisation have to lend a helping hand in ensuring that the goal is achieved.

Maybe the near future will prove the point I am trying to make. Steve Jobs is dead and gone. There is talk that the Macintosh will be phased out and that the new management wants to focus on the iPhones and the iPads. That is a call that the new management has to take, stand by it and see it through. They have charted out a course for Apple and it is their necks that are on the line. But I wonder, had Steve Jobs still been there steering the rudder, would the thought of phasing out the Macintosh even be considered?

There was a saying in Apple that Apple had only one customer – Steve Jobs. If Steve did not like the product, it never saw the light of day. He has postponed and cancelled launches because the final product did not meet up to the demands he made. This style of functioning had nothing to do with the democratic process and probably that is why Apple reached the peaks that it has.

Let us take the Armed Forces. Democracy is a sure way to ensure that you not only lose the battle but end up with horrendously large number of casualties. Imagine a situation where a Company or Platoon or Battalion is readying to attack an enemy position. The Commanding Officer, the Second-in-Command, the Adjutant, the Company Commanders, the Subedar Major, all sit around a table and put various possible strategies forward for discussion. One says hold on to current position, the other says attack on two fronts, the third wants to delay the attack by a couple of days, the fourth wants a night assault, the discussion veers to what should be the composition of the assault team, etc. Then, keeping the democratic process alive, a compromise is reached. The result is obvious. While these deliberations were going on, the enemy ended up attacking their position, took over the post, the officers and men were taken prisoners and in the process, a few lives were lost.

What about adventure sports? Let us say a team is preparing to make the final attempt on Mt Everest. The summit team is getting ready at Camp V. Then everyone sits down to discuss the attempt and arrive at the best possible way to the summit. One wants to start at midnight because that is what most successful teams have done. The other wants to break the rules and become the first person to summit in the evening by starting the climb at noon. Another climber wishes to do it without oxygen. There is an option put forth of making the attempt without any fixed ropes.

Can you imagine the disaster this group is facing? Truly, a camel is a horse designed by a committee. One cannot start out wanting to design a horse, constitute a committee and still hope to come out with a pure bred stallion at the end of the deliberations. Democracy is about taking everyone’s views into consideration. It is largely about appeasement. It is about carrying the team together. Where everyone is the first among equals. And what you end up with is a camel (or worse) instead of a horse. And everyone goes home happy. Except that the purpose of the exercise is entirely defeated.

And examples such as these can be taken from almost any field. Movies. Performing arts. Sports. Anything. Except possibly Government, where it seems to work because decisions delayed are not necessarily lethal. It might delay progress or it might mean that in the race for supremacy you get left behind on the track, but people do not lose lives. In a democratic process, you may not lose lives, but you might lose the seat of power because of the autocracy displayed. The checks and balances work for Government. It keeps corruption in check. And in mature and maturing democracies, life goes on despite the dalliances of the Government.

So what do you think? Is democracy a good thing when you have a future ahead of you? Let us assume you are the leader of the pack in an organisation. Would you rather be democratic than take the decisions that need to be taken?

Of course, there is a caveat to the point I am trying to make. In my opinion, the head honcho has to be an autocrat, taking the decisions that need to be taken. The caveat is that the person at the top needs to have the knowledge, the experience, the wherewithal to take the right decision and to stick by it. Given these basic, democracy is a waste of time and resources. What say you?