- Where they are in opposition, European social democrats don’t know what to offer voters. Where they are in power, they don’t know how to use it. Even in the United States, which has never had a social democratic party with national appeal, the Democrats have gradually changed from a party that belonged ambiguously to the left to one that spans the limited gamut between the ever-so-slightly-left-of-centre and the centre-right.
- The formal structures of democracy remain intact. People still vote. Political parties vie with each other in elections, and circulate in and out of government. Yet these acts of apparent choice have had their meaning hollowed out. The real decisions are taken elsewhere. We have become squatters in the ruins of the great democratic societies of the past.
This was a great article. The point that I most agree with is the lifespan, the arc of Democracy, is what it's described as. You could argue that this is true of every form of government, and everything else really. As times and economics change over a long time span, so should the way that representation of the public. The needs of the public change as well, and politics often seem to be out of touch with that or evolving much after the fact. Could it be due to the age of those leading the nations, or the wealth and other societal disconnects? It could be any number of reasons, any of which could present the argument that democracy is dying or already dead. I think there are two good options at this point. The first being a technocratic form of government, where the most qualified lead the people and make the toughest of decisions. The second, more palatable option would be a total restructuring or overhaul of our current system. Place more of an emphasis on community oriented local politics, and let it build upwards from there. Everybody complains about their State and Federal politicians, but how many people are involved at the base level?