One of the most powerful arguments in favor of multi-party democracy comes from the French political philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville. He argued in Democracy in America that even if, in a democratic state, the leaders turn out to be "less capable, the governed are more enlightened and more alert."
For more open and accountable government monitored by a genuinely representative legislature and uncensored media is more likely to preside over an environment which will tolerate, if not nurture, smarter and more creative citizens. But more often than not, businesses and investors are usually more pragmatic. In developing countries, they often prefer a slightly more authoritarian government, which provides basic contractual frameworks and investment protection, rather than an all-out democracy. This is because it provides them with an environment, which, while giving them the leeway to conduct business as usual, spares them the niceties of parliamentary debate and electoral hullabaloo that characterize multi-party democracies.
The KMT government was brilliant at striking this balance. It was able to provide a basic contractual framework for businesses and a reliable environment, even if the government remained authoritarian and corrupt. Perhaps a similar line of thought prompted Mani Shankar Aiyar, a prominent Indian commentator, to tell Asiaweek recently that India has lagged behind China because "foreign investors tend to prefer authoritarian over democratic regimes" in the developing economies.
The new DPP government must therefore get its act together and tell investors that it is going to be as investment-friendly as the KMT. It is now grappling with the consequences of the KMT's commercial excesses of the past, when it tried to achieve economic growth often with little regard to the means adopted. "They are still trying to fill the loopholes that the KMT created," says one European banker, who recently visited government ministries. "We are on pretty shakey ground."
Thanks to the KMT's downfall, the change in government has many Taiwanese companies and businesses worried as they see the insecure, relatively inexperienced new government where the stable, paternalistic old one once was. Businesses are complaining, the stock market is melting, and the academics are lamenting, because they are yet to realize that democracy does not come cheap. Although they have ordered lunch, they are refusing to see the bill. But what they don't know is that even if the new government is not up to the mark,pluralistic politics may make us all "more alert and enlightened."
Tsering Namgyal is a writer based in Taipei.
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