The View | Not 'pocketing it first', every step counts
It's not about pocketing it first. Hong Kong's prosperity and freedoms were built one step at a time
Society is being invited to consider whether to "pocket it first" when the government tables its proposal for political reform in the Legislative Council today. This is a very unfortunate choice of terminology. It allows opponents to claim the offer falls short of expectation, to invite us to reject it and to wait for something better. The goal of perfection becomes the enemy of progress.
Democracy is said to uphold equal human rights. In practice, it means the opposition majority successfully captures political power once monopolised by the ruling minority and promises to respect the latter's interests.
History has shown again and again this struggle for power can lead to two primary outcomes. First, the ruling minority agrees to share power with the opposition majority, which is only possible if the ruling minority does not feel too threatened. The greater the conflict between the two forces, the more they will seek to block each other from participating in policymaking.
Second, if a power sharing agreement cannot be reached, then the ruling minority represses the opposition majority. Sometimes the opposition majority proceeds to annihilate the ruling minority. Whichever side wins, democracy is lost.
Consider two examples of these outcomes. In England, the first constitutional step to limit the powers of the British monarch was the introduction of the Magna Carta in 1217. There were many twists and turns, with each step counting to the final goal. Universal suffrage was not introduced until 1918.
France was the first nation to adopt universal male suffrage in 1792, but its political history was more tumultuous than England's. Universal male suffrage was repealed and revoked several times amid sometimes violent upheaval until the Constitutional Law of 1875 solidified this right.
The willingness to accommodate is the critical defining difference between the two countries. Forcing the issue before its time and before satisfactory accommodation leads to violent backlashes.