Democracy is a four-letter word
from Jiro Kawakita's Theory of Democracy
Democracy is a four-letter word
Jiro Kawakita saw the essence of democracy as "the active participation of citizens. A symbolic expression of this is the teaching that "democracy is a four-phase process. According to him, democratic decision-making should take the following steps:[*
Footnote: The first step is to "get everyone's opinion on everything". This is the stage of gathering diverse opinions from citizens of all walks of life.
Multiply: Next, "clash the opinions that emerge and come up with new ideas". By letting different opinions discuss each other, new ideas and creative solutions are generated.
Subtract: Then "narrow down what alternatives are available". Organize suggestions and ideas and narrow down to realistic alternatives.
Divide: Finally, check "how many people support which option". A final decision is made by measuring the percentage of support through voting or consensus building.
Kawakita stated that by carefully building up such an "all-participant discussion process," a democracy can be realized in which people can "understand that they participated and that their opinions were reflected in the process. In other words, he emphasized that democracy requires not only majority rule but also a series of processes of opinion collection, emergence, convergence, and consensus.
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