Representing multiple societal classes

The political institutions are to prevent emerging the status quo and the tyranny of an individual, a group or an institution. They are to represent all the societal groups equally. If they fail to serve this purpose, they do not fall in the category of a participative and representative political institution. The political institutions may be labelled as elite interests serving institutions or representing a few, if the representatives are not from within the class to whom they are representing. Such representative institutions may lead to a policy-making process which serves nothing but the enforceable polices representing the interests of a few only.

The political institutions are to serve twofold purpose: the ‘political’ and the ‘efficient’. The efficient dimension of political institutions develops a larger consensus within a representative and beyond. It produces a better off and efficiency in the legislative outcomes of an institution. It brings procedural and qualitative improvement in legislation indicating the will of the citizens.

When it comes to the ‘political’ dimension, it, in contrast to efficiency of a political institution, recognizes the diversity of political groups to be represented in a representative body. Such representative body indicates the expression of multiple societal groups and their preferences and interests to be expressed in it. It is labelled a political representation of multiple groups since it represents a redistributive nature of a political institution which produces legislative outcomes indicating a balance between the two dimensions; the efficient and the political. By having these two characteristics, a political institution can be declared as a true representative body. Such representative institution suggests a balance between the ‘efficient’ dimension that comes from the men of wisdom and the ‘political’ dimension that is seemed in the multiple class-representations of every societal groups of a society. In a word, this twofold function requires a policy to be deliberated by the two majorities; one representing the wisdom and the other representing the multiple societal-classes. Such representative body challenges the collective or individual choices and status quo.

Such two-fold functions of a political institution make equitation between the multi-classes representation and the representative participation. The multiple societal-classes representation allows an interest group or a class to be represented by the one who is from within their class that is to say who belongs to their class or the profession. The representative participation allows a farmer to be represented by a farmer; a worker to be represented by a worker; a trader to be represented by a trader; a labourer to be represented by a labourer, a university professional to be represented by a university professional; and, a student to be represented by a student. The representation of profession or an association represented by a leader from within truly indicates the class participation and representation. It best serves to the interests of a respective association, a profession and class to represent their concerns and interests in a representative body by the stakeholders actually who know the problems of their respective community or a class.

It is concluded that the two popular forms of representations (the worker unions and board’s representatives) are to be observed which would result in a participatory, a shared and a democratic representative body serving to the interests of multiple societal classes. The associations of a specific professional class elect their own representative from within their community. The association leaders can best serve the purpose of a true representation of a work group. They must be consulted while making a policy for that very specific class or community.

The class representation or employee participation can serve two-fold purposes: first, it can give a true representation to a trade union by considering collective bargaining, consultative committees and introducing legislation providing a framework for policy-making process; second, by engaging the associations, the policy-makers can encompass the untold information necessary not only to resolve the problems of a specific class but to use their skills for a collective good of the society at large. — Dilawar Hussain