Posted on 01/29/2020 10:10:41 PM PST by Olog-hai
There was a “growing divide between northern and southern Europe” when it comes to trust in democracy and a global increase in dissatisfaction with democracy, according to a report by the University of Cambridge’s Centre for the Future of Democracy. […]
Though the study was not directly concerned with identifying causes, it noted that short-term crises, notably “economic shocks, corruption scandals, and policy crises,” had “an immediately observable effect upon average levels of civic dissatisfaction.” It also pointed to the 2008 financial crash and the refugee crisis of 2015 as factors in what the survey called “malaise.”
“I do think we should be worried,” said Severin Schmidt, political analyst at Germany’s Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES), which published a similar study focused on Germany last year. “I don’t think democracy is in danger, but the erosion of trust makes it more difficult to form coalition governments, for example. I think what’s important now is to impose policies that make real change. I think there is a high sensibility about what politics should do and what it shouldn’t.” […]
The Cambridge study, which questioned people in 154 countries around the world, broadly divided countries into four categories of satisfaction: crisis, malaise, concern, and contentment.
By far the most countries are in the middle two categories: Germany, along with many of the “new democracies” in Central and Eastern Europe was in the “concern” category, while Britain, the United States, Spain, Italy, and France were ranked lower, under “malaise.” In terms of population size, “malaise” was by far the largest category, representing some 1.09 billion people.
The only countries where people considered “contented” with democracy were Switzerland, Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, Ireland, the Netherlands and Austria. The countries in “crisis” were Mexico, Brazil, Moldova, Colombia, Peru, Ukraine, and Venezuela. …
(Excerpt) Read more at dw.com ...
Europe was never democratic to begin with.
(I)t is very clear that in fundamental theory, socialism and democracy are almost, if not quite, one and the same. They both rest at bottom upon the absolute right of the community to determine its own destiny and that of its members. Men as communities are supreme over men as individuals. …Also, the communists are very fond of democracy:
What will be the course of this revolution? Above all, it will establish a democratic constitution, and through this, the direct and indirect dominance of the proletariat. …So, close to two centuries of this version of “democracy” and we see the bitter fruits.
— The Principles of Communism
(T)he first step in the revolution by the working class is to raise the proletariat to the level of ruling class to win the battle of democracy. …
— Communist Manifesto, chapter 2
Can’t they just turn down the heat and buy some cardigans?
Thank the Lord we live in a Republic.
Unfortunately we live in a Republic that praises Democracy.
A democratic republic where the public majority elects politicians to represent everyone but that only works when a moderate right winger is elected. Leftists more often than not destroy the fabric of society like they are doing in every blue state today with CA, NY, and VA being the glaring worst examples.
So the the destructive actions of socialists has shaken people's faith in democracy. Brilliant...
There are many forms of democracy, but whether it’s a federal republic, parliamentary democracy, representative democracy, democratic republic, or several others, people refer to governments where representatives and leaders are elected by the people, either directly or indirectly, as democracies. Explaining the fine points of Federalism or Republicanism is fine when the discussion requires. But calling the USA a democracy is not incorrect. Claiming our republic is not a democracy is like claiming an eagle is not a bird.
Bingo.
The only ones complaining in the US/U.K. are Gaia Worshipping Global Socialists and they’re only complaining because they LOST.
“Europe was never democratic to begin with.”
Agree. You had two ‘mainstream’ parties in most of those countries and they agreed on 95% of everything, far worse than even here. Over there, Romney and Susan Collins would be on the far right of the mainstream ‘conservative’ party, with 90% of our Republican Party either neutered or being in jail, for spouting ‘extremism’. Just yesterday the ‘conservative’ party in Germany agreed to end coal use by 2038...that’s how bad it is there.
(and only Trump was able to hold off the same here, for now)
“…(I)t is very clear that in fundamental theory, socialism and democracy are almost, if not quite, one and the same. They both rest at bottom upon the absolute right of the community to determine its own destiny and that of its members. Men as communities are supreme over men as individuals.” …So the USA has been living under socialism for 230 years?
— Woodrow Wilson
By your definition, there is not a single democracy on earth. "Pure democracy", like "pure communism" exists only on paper. Technically, we are a Democratic Republic, and you could precede that with "Federal Constitutional" to be even more precise. Not all forms of republicanism require democracy, but OURS DOES. Yes we are a republic. Yes we are a democracy. Yes, our republic is a form of democracy. Democracy is a very broad term that applies to many forms of government. Here's a quote from Merriam Webster that makes this simple point.
Is the United States a democracy or a republic? One of the most commonly encountered questions about the word democracy has nothing to do with its spelling or pronunciation, and isn’t even directly related to the meaning of the word itself. That question is “is the United States a democracy or a republic?” The answer to this, as with so many other questions about meaning, may be phrased as some form of “it depends.”Some people assert that a country calling itself a democracy must be engaged in direct (or pure) democracy, in which the people of a state or region vote directly for policies, rather than elect representatives who make choices on their behalf. People who follow this line of reasoning hold that the United States is more properly described as a republic, using the following definition of that word: "a government in which supreme power resides in a body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by elected officers and representatives responsible to them and governing according to law."
However, both democracy and republic have more than a single meaning, and one of the definitions we provide for democracy closely resembles the definition of republic given above: "a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections."
So if someone asks you if the United States is a democracy or a republic, you may safely answer the question with either “both” or “it depends.”
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