One of the biggest puzzles in developing economies like the Philippines is in its inability to escape the poverty trap notwithstanding its democratic form of government. Grassroots democracy may refer to those movements meant to empower people in the margins. The reason can be the promotion of civil rights, land reform, or the protection of the interests of the community.
Why has there been no substantial change in the lives of people in the margins of Philippine society? Indeed, it can be argued that the dynamic interplay of people participation, human empowerment and good governance, is only possible when people come to realize the moral ends and value of just political institutions. People participation is not only about citizens following democratic rules and procedures, but more importantly, according to Amartya Sen, it is about how citizens use their just entitlements and political rights.
It must be stressed that democratic procedures alone do not guarantee the creation of a just or well-ordered society. Reflecting on Sen’s Development as Freedom, I believe that there is an important distinction between procedural and substantive democracy.
If democracy is meant to serve the moral ends of society, then it must benefit ordinary people. Human development begins with the kind of choices people make, and these choices are a concrete manifestation of the substantive freedoms people have and enjoy. Democratic institutions need to be repaired and strengthened, but this requires more than the improvement of constitutional provisions. The value of true democracy depends on how people value their dignity as human beings.
Grassroots democracy is about empowering the poor and the marginalized. If societies need to be transformed, then power will have to be redirected from the center towards the margins or the peripheries. If power is the true essence of the political apparatus, then it is important that such power is not to fall on the lap of one sector or party, which in most cases, the oligarchy that controls the economy and decision makers in government. Human development is only possible if people have a say in the lives in which they live.
Beyond the advocacies for growth and change, people should become actual contributors and stakeholders in laws and public policy by fully exercising their rights, just entitlements, and democratic duties. Institutions play a crucial role, but any institution, the bureaucracy in particular, can be subject to bad decision making and wrong policy directions when government officials and political leaders have self-serving motives.
Realizing the vision of human development is only possible under a mature and functioning democracy. A true democracy requires, as matter of principle, the basic respect for the dignity of the human person, anchored in the strong belief that a life lived in dignity is a human life lived fully and well, which means decent housing, food on the table, health care and education, and secure jobs.
Hence, the basic structure of government owes to each and every one of us that it works for the whole person and for all persons. What this means ultimately is that democratic institutions should embody the rule of law and that opportunities should be available to every citizen. In a country ruled by political elites, this is very difficult. Given this situation, it is crucial to repair the country’s many institutional weaknesses.
It is the task of social and political institutions to deliver the poor out of their difficult lives. Government institutions, however, are limited by bureaucratic procedures. The implementation of rules and government programs are affected by the vested interests of those who are in power. In the ideal sense, the above implies that “justice as fairness” requires that no person should be used as a mere means to an end for the good of those who are in the high places of society. No individual should be disadvantaged by the social and political apparatus.
It is a requirement of justice that each person is given his or her due as a human being. This is the fundamental role of justice, says the political thinker, John Rawls. Justice means serving the disadvantaged, whose misfortune in the natural lottery is not their fault. Recognizing this is the moral purpose of politics.
