I'm new to LoR, so I thought I'd kick off with (what I HOPE) is a biggy. I think it's an important issue anyway, since even the mature and relatively stable democracies (US and European) are showing signs of ailing. On the U.S. side, we have the Trump phenomenon (the idea of a Trump administration scares the hell out of me), and in Europe we have the emergence of extreme nationalist (not to say xenophobic) parties intruding into the mainstream. And now, of course, we have Brexit which has caught the global political and financial elites horribly by surprise (the early responses from the corridors of power in Europe were particularly enlightening). What I found instructive was that the turnout of voters in the referendum was almost twice what recent general elections have managed (for which the turnout has been in steady decline). This demonstrates that the British at least still have an appetite for direct democracy, so why do the normal workings of democracy excite diminishing engagement, especially among the young?
It may be a generational thing, but, to my mind, a properly functioning democracy is a necessary component of any healthy society - ensuring the empowerment of a people, giving it a proper stake in its own future.
Is democracy dying? If so, what would a post-democratic world look like, and would any sane person want to live in it? If we don't want it to, how can it be revitalised, and what form would it/could it/should it take?
Thoughts please.
Old Man Max
"Being a democracy doesn't stop a state doing bad things. It just means the blood's on everybody's hands."
It may be a generational thing, but, to my mind, a properly functioning democracy is a necessary component of any healthy society - ensuring the empowerment of a people, giving it a proper stake in its own future.
Is democracy dying? If so, what would a post-democratic world look like, and would any sane person want to live in it? If we don't want it to, how can it be revitalised, and what form would it/could it/should it take?
Thoughts please.
Old Man Max
"Being a democracy doesn't stop a state doing bad things. It just means the blood's on everybody's hands."