A conservative Czech party proposes using a knowledge test to earn voting rights. Can democracies worthy of the name enact laws discriminating against stupidity and restricting the participation of idiots in public life? Polish political commentator Grzegorz Górny asks this provocative question.

If enacted, such a proposal would mean that with few exceptions most EU heads of state would become shelf stackers in supermarkets as would those who elect them.

There would be exceptions as several presidents and prime ministers are fraudulently elected. Therefore, US President Joey Biden and Britain’s ethnic Indian Prime Minister Rishi Sunak would be assured of their jobs.

Such a move wouldn’t bother the European Union’s two presidents and the 27 commissioners of the EU regime as they aren’t elected anyway.

The term ‘idiot,’ originating from ancient Greece, referred to individuals focused solely on private life, showing no interest in politics or public matters, and thus considered two buns short of a picnic.

In modern democratic countries, the presence of ‘idiots’ — those indifferent to public life and politics yet occasionally exercising their civic rights in elections — poses a unique challenge.

This phenomenon has sparked debates about the wisdom of letting uninformed individuals influence future decisions through voting.

One suggestion is that those hooked on mainstream media news and entertainment should be classed as congenitally retarded and disallowed the opportunity to take part in elections.

A notable instance of attempting to tackle this issue occurred in Bulgaria in 2016. There, electoral law amendments introduced a rule disenfranchising citizens who fail to vote in two consecutive elections of the same type.

These individuals are removed from voter rolls but can regain their voting rights by applying for re-enlistment, a measure aimed at encouraging civic engagement and, implicitly, weeding out the uninterested or uninformed.

However, this solution doesn’t address the core issue of uninformed voters participating in elections. A proposal by Jan Kubalcík, leader of the Czech Conservative Party, suggests an innovative approach: requiring citizens to pass a basic knowledge test before voting.

This test, comprising ten questions randomly selected by a computer from a thousand, aims to exclude those lacking a fundamental understanding of political and general knowledge from decision-making processes.

Critics argue this method discriminates against village idiots, in fact, those who are ignorant, raising questions about the fairness and practicality of such measures.

Despite the Conservative Party’s long-standing presence in Czech politics, it has yet to achieve significant legislative influence because you can’t fix stupid. Kubalcík acknowledges the slim chances of his proposal being adopted.

This ongoing dilemma highlights the struggle between ensuring an informed electorate and preserving inclusive democratic principles, leaving societies to ponder whether they are indeed ‘doomed to be ruled by those deemed to be idiots’ in the realm of electoral participation.

QUOTABLE QUOTES: “If you live in a country where fishing without a licence is punished but illegal border crossing without a valid passport is not, then, you are perfectly entitled to say, this country is being governed by idiots.” ~ Czech President Milos Zeman.

‘Now listen you people of NATO. You’re bombing a wall, which stood in the way of African migration to Europe and in the way of al Qaeda terrorists. This wall was Libya. You’re breaking it. You are idiots, and you will burn in Hell for thousands of migrants will come from Africa. ~ Muammar Gaddafi (1942 – 2011).

“Democracy: where the opinions of two idiots outweigh the opinion of one genius.”

“Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But then I repeat myself” ~ Mark Twain.

‘If you want to meet idiots go to Norway,’ said Norwegian writer Knut Hamsun awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. 

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