As
authoritarian, repressive and nationalistic political leaders and
parties proliferate
and
the Western democracies
waver
in
the face of
the globalization and climate change, it’s reasonable to ask if
liberal democracy can survive. Indeed, globalization and its
discontents – diminished
prospects,
resentment, and blame
casting
– have
become a
potent political force undermining mutual tolerance, optimism and
willingness
to compromise
without which democracy falters.
The non-democratic regimes – China, Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia,
North Korea – see blood in the water and seek to hasten the
decline. Others
– Hungary, Poland, Turkey – sense the winds and seek to entrench
themselves in power through superficially
democratic
means.
Liberal
democracy:
an open society with constitutional government based on popular
consent,
allocation of political power through multi-party elections,
separation of powers, rule of law, market economy with private
property, and equal protection of human rights, civil rights, civil
liberties and political freedom for all regardless of belief,
self-identity, race, religion, gender or ethnicity.
Liberal
democracy and evolution:
Darwinian evolution works through adaption of species to their
environment through natural selection, that is, through random
mutations, some of which allow individual
organisms to reproduce more successfully than others. In this way, a
species may evolve over time into something new. Some fail to
survive because of environmental changes too rapid to allow time for
successful mutations to arise – the Cretaceous impact
that wiped out the dinosaurs – or because they become too tied to
an environment which then disappears – as happening to lemur
species in Madagascar as rain forests fall victim to man.
Although
we are social creatures, human
nature is highly individualistic. We
strive as
individuals to
survive
and thrive in our environment. A liberal democratic society can be
thought of as a species that permits the fullest range of random
“mutations” as unique individuals are allowed to live and
innovate as their individual nature and capabilities allow. Such a
society is more
likely
to successfully meet the challenges of its environment and thrive
than one which seeks to limit or control individual variability.
Liberal democracy confers evolutionary advantage.
Globalization
is an ideology:
For decades, liberal democracy has been in the hands of capitalist,
rent-seeking elites
pushing their
self-serving ideology
of supra-national, borderless free trade. In
the U.S., this
has
been
at
the expense of the
working class and
increased inequality.
Those left behind by globalization make up the natural breeding
ground of support for the populist, nativist politics used by
rightist parties seeking to entrench themselves in power through
subverting democratic practices.
But
there is nothing sacrosanct about globalization. There is no reason
why a polity could not decide to place limits on international
capitalism within its borders. It might well value policies in
support of domestic labor and domestic production even
if it led to
higher prices. These
could
be offset
through creation of better paid union jobs, addressing economic
inequality with higher minimum wages and perhaps guaranteed minimum
incomes, higher taxes on the wealthy and big corporations and
rebuilding industry
and
extending infrastructure green.
Building
it back better:
Liberal democracy’s evolutionary advantage lies in openness to
random change, i.e. economic, technological, cultural and social
innovation. To
reach its potential, innovation
needs enabling
infrastructure
and
a
population with full
access
to
public primary and secondary education
and
opportunities for university and technical and vocational training.
It
requires mass communication and transport systems available
everywhere and at every level. In the U.S., government played a
large role here through providing postal services, building roads and
supporting rail systems. These could be brought into the 21st
Century by bringing
free
broadband
Internet to
every
home, small business, library
and
school.
Efficient
mass
transport
networks in cities and through
small towns and rural areas would
allow decentralization of economic activity without requiring more
cars. The
Postal
Service
–
with
its
presence
everywhere
– provides
outlets for delivering not only mail and goods
at
reasonable cost
but also direct government services for
individuals and businesses. Government
spending to connect
and empower
small businesses and green
industry
and innovators
would be productive even if it increased debt.
Liberal
democracy has considerable advantages over
control systems. If the human species – facing
our
self-created
singularity –
has a future, it will be in the hands of something like liberal
democracy. Survival demands the fullest range of mutation and
adaption of which humans
are capable. This can be a future in which the United States plays a
leading role. Our democracy can fail only at our hands.