The democratic system faces multiple threats in these volatile times. The clarion cry of the anti-democrats is that democracy favours the elites and has failed the masses that it was intended to serve. They point to the unfulfilled promises and the time wasted in the endless debate which gets in the way of the hard work of nation-building.
There is a troubling trend in established liberal democracies, that younger voters are impressed by populist leaders and authoritarian solutions. These angry voters have never lived in a totalitarian one-party state or under a dictatorship. If they had, they would understand what Nobel Laurette Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn meant when he said: “unlimited power in the hands of limited people always leads to cruelty.”
Emerging democracies also are facing dangers from arbitrary rule, curtailment of freedom of expression and rigged elections. Crackdowns under the guise of combating crime and corruption are taking an ominous turn. They end up limiting political choices and impeding the will of the people. As we know, once a state starts down the path of authoritarianism, it is difficult to change course. To quote Professor Steven Levitsky How Democracies Die: “there is a misguided impression that authoritarianism can be controlled or tamed.”
Despite strident criticism, the democratic system remains the best hope for inclusive progress. It is the sole governance system that can account for competing interests, human frailties, and an unfair world. Furthermore, the checks and balances of a secular democracy impede the consolidation of coercive structures. It protects the right of freedom of speech and protest without fear or favor. Importantly, it instills respect for the practice of diverse religious beliefs and disbelief.
