Abstract

 

Contemporary democratic systems face mounting crises as increasing partisan entrenchment supplants effective governance in favour of adversarial gamesmanship and reduces citizens to passive spectators. This essay examines how factionalism undermines democracy by constraining essential freedoms— to choose suitable candidates, to access reliable information, to deliberate meaningfully, and to flourish collectively. Political parties function as “machines that generate collective passions," prioritizing electoral victory over truth-seeking and principled deliberation. Partisanship thus tends over time to descend into personal attacks, disinformation campaigns, and polarized alienation that makes genuine democratic participation nearly impossible. Reform measures within partisan systems can, at best, slow this trajectory of partisan politics.

Drawing on Bahá'í teachings and administrative experience, we propose an alternative framework based on universal participation and collaborative truth-seeking. The Bahá'í approach features elections without campaigns or nominations, decision-making through consultation, and multi-level learning processes that integrate grassroots experience with institutional guidance. This system eliminates the us-versus-them mentality inherent in partisan politics, fostering organic relationships between individuals, communities, and institutions working toward common objectives. Through "learning in action"—where all participants contribute to generating knowledge for collective betterment—communities can transcend competitive adversarialism and enable genuine democratic participation. Central to this alternative model is the recognition that noble ends cannot be achieved through unworthy means. Divisive practices cannot therefore succeed in achieving the ideal aspiration of politics: to allow humanity to flourish as one unified yet diverse whole.