Is Democracy Dying?

All across the world, prosperous democracies are crumbling and looking worse for wear.

A hundred years ago, when countries were warming up to the idea of democracy, hordes of people embraced freedom and the idea of living in a country where everyone’s interests, as well as opinions, were taken into consideration. Millions of people around the world yearned to live in a country where the people, themselves, had a say in their government. People were exhausted from being treated like second-class citizens and letting their fate be dictated by their social and economic standing. They wanted to live in a country where they were represented, and their problems would be listened to. The ideas of liberty, equality, and fraternity were making the rounds and were a breath of fresh air. Coups, dictatorships, and autocracies seemed like things of the past, and they were regarded as mere blots in the grand scheme of things. The turn of the century was marked by ideas of equality, democracy, and of a world in which everyone had a chance to make a name for themselves.

Fast forward a little—the world of today is haunted by accounts of how all around the globe, the freedom, and the rights guaranteed to people by their democratic governments are being taken away by leaders who show autocratic tendencies. Almost all the news outlets around the world are marred with articles about one instance or another of democratic countries failing to work for their citizens. Not only is that ironic, but it is also sad. After all, democracy is said to be “of the people, by the people, and for the people.” Dr. Escalante-Mead, an IB Psychology teacher at AISG, says, “Personally, for me, [democracy’s] main idea is people’s voices and views being heard.” He goes on to say, “Democracy is getting far weaker—I think that there are trends such as nationalism, and figureheads that are steering people away from expressing their own opinions.”

Many threats exist to democracy. First and foremost, the biggest threat lies with people such as strongmen, autocratic leaders, and governments with leanings towards dictatorship or the military. Strongmen pose the greatest threat: they are most often elected through democratic means, and slowly start bending laws to their own advantage. They infringe on democratic principles and keep chipping at these principles slowly until nothing remains to be chipped at.

Another threat to democracy lies with governments being fed money by outsiders. This leads them to not work for the people who elected them but to work instead for a profit. This has many negative implications, with the largest one being dissatisfied citizens. These citizens lose faith in the idea of democracy and start to believe that it only caters towards people with money. Ms. Partee, one of our IB Economics teachers, says, “What you see in countries like the U.S, is that they are turning from democracies to oligarchies. You have people with significantly large amounts of money that are influencing elections, which by virtue is taking the voice away from the common people.” She adds, “Most people are not rich, so if wealthy people are making donations to steer elections or candidates towards their interests then democracies are not doing what they’re supposed to be doing.”

The biggest example which comes to one’s mind when thinking about a democracy is the United States of America. It has been one of the most successful examples of a democracy and is the world’s longest-surviving one. Democracy being installed in America heralded changes all over the world and it was looked up to with admiration and awe. However, not much can be said of American democracy now. Donald Trump pledged “to preserve and protect the constitution of the U.S.A” when he was sworn in as the President of the U.S.A; however, many people are in doubt about whether or not he has even read the constitution.

Since Donald Trump was elected, he has shown a blatant disregard for rules, and his incessant and useless tweets have interfered with America’s foreign policy. His treatment of women is abhorrent and he is internationally notorious for his  remark about “grabbing [a woman] by the pussy.” He plans to use a substantial amount of the American taxpayers’ money to build a wall at the Mexican border to keep out immigrants. On the issue of immigrants, his government has become notorious for separating minor immigrant children from their parents and keeping them in beastly conditions. He also imposed a ban on citizens from Middle Eastern and North African countries which prohibited them from entering the U.S. on the basis of a flimsy excuse. He is leading his country by capitalizing on the social differences between his citizens and furthering the rift between them. Although Donald Trump claims to be catering to the lower working class, his cabinet is filled with business moguls and people with connections to high society. He is doing little that doesn’t benefit himself.

The decay of democracy in countries such as Poland, Germany, and the United States is surprising, but the trend is clear. Many European countries are becoming increasingly influenced by radical ideas. Leaders are campaigning based on social divides. They are hoping to tap into an anti-immigrant or an anti-“outsider” sentiment. Islamophobia is making the rounds, and anti-semitism has made a comeback. Last year, in France, the Mayor of Nice issued an order banning full-body swimsuits on beaches in and around Nice. Who he meant to target with that decree is extremely clear. The democratic ideals of equality and fraternity are on the decline.

In Poland, something even worse is happening. The very pillars of democracy are being undermined. The separation of powers is a very important idea in a democracy. It splits power and responsibilities between the legislative, judiciary and the executive branches. They are not supposed to interfere with the workings of one another. However, in Poland, the opposite seems to be the case. A clash between the judiciary and the executive (the elected government) branches has escalated into a major infringement of democratic principles. The elected government (a right-wing party) has issued an amendment which allows the government to regulate the court and its proceedings.  This gives the government the power to pass unconstitutional laws, and the court will not have the power to contest them. The court has effectively been paralyzed. 2019 will be when Poland holds new elections; however, the current government has the power to pass a law that neutralizes the possibility of other parties contesting elections. The court will have a hard time raising any opposition to that, if or when it happens.

Countless other countries have similar stories. In India, the elected government has leanings towards RSS (Rashtriya Swayam-Sevak Sangh) which is a blatant pro-Hindu organization. Hate crimes against Indian Muslims are increasing, and the government has turned a blind eye on attacks committed on Indian minority communities by Hindus.

Democracy is in trouble. All around the world, ‘democratic’ countries are leaning more and more towards extreme nationalism. A thrust towards religion and xenophobia can be seen as well. World leaders are changing laws in their favor and they are weakening institutions such as the judiciary and the legislative. Not only that, but pillars of free speech such as journalists and activists are being silenced. The ideals of democracy are eroding before our very eyes.

People have become disillusioned with democracy. Many people think that it has failed to deliver what it promised. They feel that equality, liberty and fraternity are abstract ideas which only matter to the connected and the elite. They want employment and they want to be able to make a living and sustain themselves. Many feel that democratic ideals sound nice, but they don’t work on the ground. They feel that democracy only functions if there is a level playing field, and it caters only towards the ruling class. They believe that democracy enables the rich to keep getting richer, leading the poor to fall even more into the rat trap of debt. This leads the social and economic divides to keep getting larger.  They acknowledge that economic standards and living conditions thrived for a while, but now they feel that they have stagnated and in many places have dipped very low. People at the grassroots level feel that their vote makes no impact, and that they are just pawns in the great game of politics. Another common view is that the opinion of the public is pointless because money plays a bigger role.

Historians feel that most people never really had fixed political principles. As long as their lives were stable and they had everything they needed, they were content with the way things were. However, as soon as their needs could not be met they embraced people like Donald Trump or Marine Le Pen in France.

Expert voices now suggest that life for the average citizen might be improved with alternatives to democracy. They cite China as an example. They point towards the massive economic and social gains that they believe the country has made, and how in barely 30 years it has become a world leader. And it’s true: China was a run-down country in Asia, thought to be recovering from the Opium Wars, but has now transformed itself into a power to contend with on a global scale. It has also lifted millions out of poverty and ensured better living standards for its people. Of course, not that much is known about China, and how the social systems work within the country, due in part to the government’s reluctance to release data that may shine a negative light on its inner workings. However, many commend the role that a strong authoritarian government has played in advancing the ‘Middle Kingdom’. They feel that a strongman may be required to establish order and bring about changes. To many, democracy is too much talk and too little action.

While democracy and its values are very clearly on a decline, I believe that the ideals of democracy will never die. As long as people are oppressed, they will long for rights such as liberty and equality. As long as emotions such as empathy and kindness, which are intrinsic to human nature, are present, the idea of fraternity will remain relevant. It’s easy to focus on the shortcomings of democracy because most people haven’t experienced other forms of governance to compare democracy too.

An appropriate way to end this article is by inserting in a few lines that Dr. Escalante-Mead said when I interviewed him: “Democracy will always be a force to be reckoned with. There will be people who don’t think with streamlined views and would want their views to be heard, and that’s alright as well. Democracy is about equal representation.”