Democracy dates back to the ancient Greek and Roman city states and has evolved through several different flavors over the years. The largest democracy in the world is India and the most powerful is the United States.
The last few years have seen a largely amoral POTUS attempt to tear down the institutions of our government and instill a hard-right nationalist fervor which he succeeded in doing - you may recall the armed militia, on the steps of the Michigan capitol and the arrest of several militia members planning to kidnap and possibly execute the governor of Michigan. Our country's divide is as deep and wide as the Grand canyon.
Democracy speaks to how we select our government or the leaders of any institution. You would be hard pressed to find people who prefer any other way of selecting leaders.
Once the leaders are chosen, how they choose to govern largely dictates the success or failure as a democracy, Types of democracy? Too numerous to list or discuss here. We, the USA, are a Republic. It seems our founders were not so enamored of direct democracy, as in their day that often meant democracy without the protection of a constitution enshrining basic rights. James Madison suggested a direct democracy got weaker as it got larger whereas a republic could get stronger as it got larger (see the Federalist 10).
World population review list the top 10 of the most democratic nations in the world are: Norway (9.87) Iceland (9.58) Sweden (9.39) New Zealand (9.26) Finland (9.25) Ireland (9.24) Canada (9.22) Denmark (9.22) Australia (9.09) Switzerland (9.03). The bottom of the entire list is anchored by North Korea, the USA comes in at 25. You can see the entire list here - just scroll down through the ads and other info to the list.
Obviously economic performance is a huge indicator of the success or failure of a democracy. I believe the future success or failure of democracy lies with the success or failure of two countries - the USA and India. The USA has long been that shining ight on the hillside so often talked about. Clearly though, the last four years show we are not without issues that must be resolved. While we do possess the treasure and strength to be a world cop, the wherewithal to do so may be waning a bit. I see that strength in India and a population willing to do nearly anything to be successful. The entrepreneurial spirit I have seen from India is mind boggling and they have the technical expertise. India is an effective counterweight to China with China ahead at the moment but with India in the race for the long haul. FYI, India's democracy score is 7.23, the USA is 7.96 and China is 3.32. Globalization increases daily as communication and technical growth run wild. Market stresses caused by changing and shrinking resources require technical innovation - such as ceasing global dependence on fossil fuels. Changing weather patterns will affect food supplies and population centers. It is going to be a vastly different world in 50 years. Democracy will make a difference, as in my opinion a largely east vs west slugfest becomes a north vs south slugfest.
Modern Democracy has been very much a success to this point thanks in large part to the success and growth of the USA. How the USA reacts to internal power changes, as the next generation of leaders assume control, and external power as more nations step up on the world stage for their piece of the pie. India, this means you, will determine the future success or failure of democracy. Of course, we live in a nuclear world and there is always the chance some buffoon pushes the button that brings it all crashing down on us. I personally think the chance of that happening increases in direct proportion to the increasing political power of religions. There is a reason our country was founded with a very distinct separation of church hand state.
That's it for this week's topic. See ya next week, same bat time, same bat channel.
