This may come as a shock to many, but democracy isn’t always the solution to any problem. It seems too often that I hear of systems that are broken or ineffective defended on the basis that they are democratic. However, what we refuse to discuss, or even acknowledge are the shortcomings that democracy creates.

Take for example the idea of a local school board. These boards are responsible for making decisions about the education of the students in the schools they represent. However these are often elected positions, which often means that the people on the school board have little to no experience in education at all. Meanwhile, the superintendent of the school district, more often in larger districts, has an advanced degree in education, but still needs to answer to people who know less than I do about education. School board members may be opposed to increases in funding for technology that is becoming necessary for education, or may not support launching a new class to better broaden the learning experience. More often than not, these people have no idea what they are doing, and yet we put them in charge.

This is one of democracy’s greatest failings; it’s ability to put people who lack any expertise in charge of those who are trained in the subject. These are problems that other governing systems don’t face. For example, oligarchies would more than likely be run by a group of experts in their fields that would establish plans that would be devoid of input from those who had no expertise in the field. In a dictatorship, the dictator would likely be advised by the best minds in the country, and under perfect conditions, would make decisions based on their recommendations.

However, the best example for democracy’s failures in this area comes from Singapore, which is an effective one party state. The People’s Action Party has been in power in Singapore since 1959, and  dominates all of the countries politics. It is this dominance that has allowed Singapore to become a thriving nation, with good healthcare and a growing economy. Without the threat of losing an election, the People’s Action Party has been able to enact long term plans to better the country. Without this control, none of the improvements made to Singapore over the last 56 years would have been possible.

This is not to say that democracy doesn’t have any benefits. Democracy is the best system in which human rights can flourish, even if some try to prove otherwise. However, when we think about democracy, we need to remember that it is not infallible. Like every other political system it has its pros and cons. It is when we insist that democracy is right in every situation that we find ourselves creating inefficient and ineffective systems of government that in the end will need to be reformed.

Alex Bertsch is the opinion editor for The Dakota Student. He can be reached at [email protected].