If humans had not invented the democratic exercise

At the end of the electoral campaign, a sacred month when those who want to represent the people present their reasons, motivations and projects to voters, I would like to talk to you about democracy. I want to remind you that this lesser worst of systems, which Abraham Lincoln defined as “the government of the people, by the people, for the people”, is not a human exclusivity.

For a species centered on its navel like ours, research on the origins of universal suffrage could not look elsewhere than in its history. The consensus is that Athens is the birthplace of Western democracy. The term democracy comes from the ancient Greek “dêmos”, which means “people”, and “kratos”, which refers to power. It is therefore a political system where power is in the hands of the people. Today, it is permissible to wonder if this is really the case in many liberal democracies, but my column is not about the excesses of democracy.

So, I’m going to come back to my subject and say more about the origin of universal suffrage, leaving aside our anthropocentric vision of creation. Indeed, it is not because there are no political formations in the animal world that one should not look there for traces of this way of directing oneself. After all, life in society also requires animals to make decisions where the collective interest must take precedence over individual needs. A way to strengthen social cohesion and reduce the risk of conflict and mortality in the group. So, long before Sapiens hit the planet, the need to put the group before the individual led social animals to embrace individual suffrage. It is estimated that between 20 and 30% of mammals live in groups.

Let me give you a few examples here of animals that practiced a form of democracy long before Athens was a project.

African savannah ecosystems live wild dogs, also called wild dogs. These social canids that hunt in packs are perhaps the most efficient apex predators on the planet. Even big cats and hyenas avoid rubbing shoulders with these swift and fearsome dogs. Scientists have shown that before going hunting, wild dogs “vote” to determine whether or not to undertake this hunt. One by one, individuals sneeze to show their consent. When the quorum is reached, the troop starts marching even if the dominant individuals are against it. Otherwise, you have to stay in the lair and wait for a more favorable moment and go back to the “vote”.

I thought of proposing this method to choose the winner of the elections, but Luc Boileau, Director of Public Health, made me understand that bringing together thousands of people for a collective sneeze is not a smart way to celebrate democracy. in the time of COVID-19. Moreover, with hay fever affecting an increasingly large part of the population, there would be a great risk of seeing non-allergic people sink into a democratic deficit or people taking antihistamines unable to exercise their right to vote.

Among the macaques of Tonkean, in Indonesia, the work of the Belgian researcher Cédric Sueur has demonstrated another “democratic” way of making decisions which makes it possible to satisfy the majority and maintain social cohesion. Before leaving for an expedition in the forest, the choice of the destination is made after a “vote”. Here, an individual will leave the group and move forward a few meters in the direction he wishes to take. It is his way of indicating his intention. Those who want to go in the same direction must then imitate him. During this time, opponents of very different projects may move in other directions, also hoping to convince the group. At the end of this very democratic exercise, the troop will leave in the direction that has received the most “votes”. The losers then have no choice but to recognize their defeat and submit to the will of the majority. The story does not tell if the losers congratulate the winner or if, like President Trump, they leave very bitterly saying that they were robbed of the election. Oh no, it’s true, the big oranges are the orangutans, not the macaques. Macaques don’t indulge in such antics.

Even if they don’t have ballots, examples of democratic practice abound among social mammals.

While wild dogs sneeze and Tonkean macaques point in one direction, red deer rear up on their hind legs to exercise their right to “vote” and aim for nearly 60% favorable reviews before heading off to a destination.

Obviously, among animals, the concept of leadership has never been fashionable either. Yes, there are individuals who are dominant by their life experience or their strength, but their role is more confined to managing tensions than to making decisions. Thus, among killer whales and elephants, it is the matriarchs with extensive experience in the school of life who lead the herds. It’s a bit the opposite of the America of the last decade where it’s the old males who rule.

When speaking of democracy, it is almost sacred to repeat that the Athenians were its inventors. However, universal suffrage existed in the animal world and probably also in many other tribes who did not write their history in books, because it is simply a very effective rule for living well in society. Perhaps we should remind those who place the individual above the community in all things.