Self-Defeating Democracy

I’ve been thinking a lot about the nature of democracy ever since the Burma protests happened.  It seems to me that the push from democracy only happens when a lot of people’s lives are impacted negatively enough that they can not be ignored and unite people behind a mutual front.

The thing that sparked the Burmese protests was initially a very large increase imposed on cooking fuel by the government.  The stamp tax united Americans against the British.  Now clearly those were just the last straw in their respective circumstances, but it’s something to think about.

Democracy also appears to have a flaw similar to the boom and bust market cycles that caused the recessions in the past.  As democracy succeeds and many of the things that were negatively impacting the people subside, people begin to lose cohesion and begin focusing on their personal lives and lose site of the civic responsibilities necessary for the continuation of the democracy.   This process is facilitated with advertising that tells us to focus on ourselves by buying product x.

It reminds me of what happened to the romans.  The generation of Pax Romana did not know suffering and life without democracy so they let it crumble around them.  I think we’re in a similar period today as depressing as it may sound.  I would like to think we could learn from the past, but that may be simply naive.

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 21st, 2007 at 7:57 pm and is filed under Apathy, Protest, Community, Awareness, Politics. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.

One Response to “Self-Defeating Democracy”

  1. Sue Says:
    October 23rd, 2007 at 7:58 am

    You’re right on it, again. People in the U.S. won’t get concerned about voting until their lives are not so comfortable. It’s even sadder to me, though, that this U.S. administration will invade to protect oil but not people. It makes me sick that the U.N. and other supposed protectors of the people (the Western nations) have not stepped in more quickly and firmly to help the people of Burma. I’m sure that the Bush administration is honoring to the Dalai Lama to pretend they care about the people of the East (and also to bitch slap China). I doubt George Bush even knows who the Dalai Lama is. I worry every day about the monks in Burma who are now in prison. Thanks for your post.