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10 Reasons Why Democracy is in Crisis
Jan Oberg / Global Research
Democracy is a core feature of Western society, normally understood as representative parliament – i.e. in free elections citizens vote for people to represent their interests in a parliament consisting of parties of which some form the government and some the opposition.
It’s not always included in the definitions that democracy requires a reasonable level of knowledge and information, freely available. For instance, one often hears that India is the world’s largest democracy but 26% of the people are still illiterate (287 million people).
So the ”world’s largest democracy” also has the world’s largest population who can’t read and write. In comparison, China’s illiterate citizens make up about 3% and it is regularly called a dictatorship.
The state of democracy – 10 points for dialogue
When we talk about global crisis, people think much more of the economy, environment, identity issues or warfare than of democracy being in crisis. I think it is in fundamental crisis for the the following reasons.
1. The state is being challenged from below and from above.
Democracy is tied to the nation-state. But citizens’ activity from below plus regional and global organisations, summits, forums and groups make the state weaker.
2. Economic perspectives dominate.
Most of what is discussed in democracies are related to the economy, and that is further dominated by the politics of the wallet.
3. Materialism over life values.
Compared with economics and what is called ”realistic”, democratic debate seldom touch values, ethics or concepts such as justice and peace.
4. A time horizon far too short.
Who can achieve anything meaningful in the larger world with a 4-year perspective?
5. National parliaments less and less important.
Larger, more distant and elite-based structures such as Wall Street, NATO, EU, the IMF, SCO, ASEAN, banks, and stock market manipulations etc. set up the parameters within which the state – national governments – may operate.
6. Economic and military elites think of the world as one system.
But the political sphere remains national, even sometimes nationalistic. We don’t have even the embryo of a global democratic decision-making that can match these two powerful actors.
7. Politicians must choose between getting elected and speaking the truth.
A politician whose campaign would emphasise what we must give up and how we must show solidarity to save the world won’t get elected. Those who get elected promise more and more money in your pocket, brilliant futures built on extrapolations of the present and they make promises everybody somehow knows won’t be kept after election day.
read more at Global Research:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/10-reasons-why-democracy-is-in-crisis/5385853
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