Can Democracy Work?

Almost nobody now disputes that democracy is the most desirable system of political regime. It may have its flaws but no other form of government is known to work so well. Democracy may be our clearest path to freedom.

The rise of Donald Trump in the United States and the 2016 Brexit referendum in the UK have initiated a debate of whether there is such a thing as ‘too much democracy.’ Democracy, some argue “is not the act of voting; democracy is a system of government.” That’s why referendums like the one we just saw in the UK are deeply undemocratic. “Given voter turnout of 70% in the UK, it means that the Leave campaign won with only 36% of eligible voters backing it. This isn’t democracy…. it is Russian roulette for republics.”

Soon after the UK voted to leave the European Union the British people were googling the meaning of the European Union. “What is the EU?” was the second-most-popular question being asked in relation to the Brexit in the hours since the result of the referendum has been announced. Although this doesn’t give the whole picture, as Google Trends shows the intensity of a search and not its absolute volume, it is indicative of how little the British public knew about the EU. (There was a Eurobarometer survey conducted the year before the referendum, that confirms this view).

So, Can Democracy Work? asks James Miller, a writer and professor of politics and liberal studies at the New School for Social Research. How democratic are the nations today? United States claims to be a democracy. So does Russia, an authoritarian regime with multiple parties and elections held on a set schedule. Even North Korea claims to be a Democratic People’s Republic.

Modern democracy, write James Miller, in this informative examination of democracy, revolves around the idea of popular sovereignty, but this idea was utterly alien to the thinking of ancient Greeks. Rousseau, in his Social Contract, argued that slavery was unnatural and illegitimate, “but he also freely speculated that slavery was perhaps a prerequisite of democracy in Athens.

When it comes to the idea of democracy in the United States, the Founding Fathers had mixed feelings, in fact, some of them opposed the creation of political parties at all. In his Farewell Address in 1796, George Washington warned:

“However combinations or associations of the above description may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely, in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.”

The practices used today by the American ruling class are similar with those used by the ancient Greek Oligarchs more than two thousand years ago. Americans do enjoy many features central to democratic governance, such as regular elections. But policy–making is dominated by powerful economic elites and organised groups, a permanent political class that represents business interests and have a substantial impact on US policy.


James Miller is aware of the challenges to democracy, its faults and its limitations, but he is also hopeful. Alexis de Tocqueville pointed out that democracies always look weaker than they really are. Democratic systems are able to expose alternative leaders that could provide alternative solutions to complicated problems and challenges. Robust constitutions and free institutions are the foundations for a democratic state based in rule of law. Perhaps the best way to promote democracy is by empowering women, boosting programs that reduce economic inequality and preparing our children to think both critically and creatively. By being able to evaluate the credibility of news and information they will be able to make the distinction between the truth and the lie.

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