Democracy is for Losers
Lately, it seems to me that more and more people are talking about how great this “democratization” thing is. Of course, they aren’t talking about places like Iraq or Afghanistan. No. They aren’t even really referring to making the American system more democratic (although there certainly are a lot of people screaming very loudly at the moment to see if it will work that way). No, these folks are talking about things like web standards and design. They’re bringing it into business and decision making.
Unfortunately these same people live in a country where to want something other than “democracy”, as they’ve termed it, is purely unpatriotic. To say that you’re against this so-called democratization is to be at best “the man” and at worst a crazy Nazi.
So, let’s step back for a minute.
What is the point of hiring a designer? Isn’t the point to have consultation and recommendations? Because, let’s be real, if you could design, you wouldn’t be hiring a designer. So why be “democratic” about it? If you truly want the best possible result, why would you want to have an equal voice in the process itself, rather than veto power?
Let’s be honest for a minute, when it comes down to it, should everyone have an equal voice in all things? Should the layperson really have equal say in the engineering of a bridge as an engineer? Should Joe the Plumber really have equal say in teaching your kids business ethics? Should you have equal say in things being designed for you?
It seems like a hard question to answer, but the answer is a clear no. Of course the client should have some say in a design project, just the same as a client would tell a mechanic which parts of the car to fix or accepting the lawyer’s suggestion to settle. When it comes to the project, however, the point of the designer is to be the expert, the consultant, the artist. It’s important to remember the reasons you hired your agency: they know how the market works, they’ve done their research on the demographic, they have the artistic talent, they have the skills necessary. And you don’t. That’s why they are so valuable. (resist the urge to read “expensive”)
Democracy doesn’t make your design better. (I’ve already addressed the other concept of democratization that really means having lots of people doing the work and paying one, which is a lot more like modern day snake oil sales) Having an equal voice in the process won’t help you. You have something much more important to contribute. As the client, you know your company, the people who work for you, and the people you work with. You (hopefully) know where you want to go and what you want to be doing. You have the knowledge and words, and the designer has the ability to turn that into images. So, I urge you, give up this notion of “democracy” that many are starting to champion, and let the system that’s worked so well for so long continue to be the best it can. This isn’t a government, it’s a market.
We have a representative democracy in America, which means everyone’s voice is only heard at the ballot and the interests of the majority are served. If we had a direct democracy and every citizen had a direct and equal say in all parts of government was run, the government wouldn’t exist.
Current failures of this type of direct democracy include the budget shortfalls in California.
Our Constitution originally prevented this type of democracy, citizens couldn’t even vote for the president. We’re moving more and more toward a direct democracy, but I’m not sure that’s a good thing. While there are failures of representative democracy, majority rule is not one that direct democracy doesn’t suffer from as well.
I would say that all people should have an equal voice in how their country is run. In the United States of America, politicians are elected officials with the sole duty of REPRESENTING they layperson. When the layperson does not have a direct say in the way that the government is run they are marginalized and abused. The politician cannot do what they feel needs to be done regardless of public consensus. That is not how government is structured or meant to be in the US. It is a government run by the people for the people.