“Democracy is cumbersome, slow and inefficient, but in due time, the voice of the people will be heard and their latent wisdom will prevail, ” — Thomas Carlyle

Democracy is a great form of government, but in a zombie apocalypse it just might get you killed. As Scottish essayist Thomas Carlyle noted, democracy is slow and assumes there is room for mistakes.

In a democracy everyone gets a vote and is given a chance to explain their position. But that takes time and in a crisis situation time may be a luxury you don’t have.

Furthermore, in a healthy democracy mistakes are allowed. If a plan doesn’t work, you can simply vote to choose a new one. In a zombie apocalypse, a mistake could spell death for you and your group.

In an emergency, be it a brief one or a something more long-term, you need a single leader who can quickly and confidently make decisions without being questioned. Second-guessing and arguing over the plan will only serve to reduce your chances of survival.

Even in democracies today, you have units such as military units, police forces – even fire fighters and EMTs, where an established chain of command is in place and respected.

If your group feels the need to maintain some semblance of democracy, your best option would be to vote for your leader. Decide ahead of time how long their leadership lasts (a year, two years, etc) and stick to it.

Once the leader is chosen, let them do their job and make sure everyone else does theirs. The key to group survival in a disaster situation is for everyone to contribute, even if they don’t have a direct say in how things are done.

“This is not a democracy anymore, ” — Rick Grimes

This article originally appeared in Zombie Apocalypse Monthly Issue 1 and can be downloaded for free here: http://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/391061