Is Democracy Up Against The Ropes?

By, Chris Rossini

The Washington Post's E.J. Dionne laments a report from a group of "distinguished academics" at the German Marshall Fund of the United States. The report is called “The Democratic Disconnect”. It contends that democracy is in some hot water around the world:

“Democracy is in trouble,” the report begins. “The collective engagement of a concerned citizenry for the public good — the bedrock of a healthy democracy — is eroding. Democratic governments often seem crippled in their capacity to deliver what their people want and need. They are neither as responsive nor as accountable as they need to be in an era of hard choices and rising nondemocratic powers. There is widespread concern about apparent declining rates of voter participation and about the alienation or disaffection of citizens from the political process.”

Let's take this one by one:

•  The collective engagement of a concerned citizenry for the public good — the bedrock of a healthy democracy — is eroding: That's because the very idea of  something called "public good" is a total fantasy. As Ludwig Von Mises accurately pointed out: "All rational action is in the first place individual action. Only the individual thinks. Only the individual reasons. Only the individual acts."
• Democratic governments often seem crippled in their capacity to deliver what their people want and need: Governments take from the populace (by force) and divide up the loot amongst themselves and their political friends. It's no different than a common street gang, other than the fact that the process is done on a much larger scale and is considered "legal". When you strip away this layer of theft from society, you're actually left with a something called the free marketplace, which does deliver what people "want and need".
• They are neither as responsive nor as accountable as they need to be in an era of hard choices and rising nondemocratic powers: Actually, democracy is working just as it should. Politicians and their politically connected cronies are living it up at the expense of their victims. Let's say you were to get mugged on a city street. Would you expect your mugger to be "responsive" and "accountable" to your needs? Of course not! The same rules apply when you're mugged by a politician.
• There is widespread concern about apparent declining rates of voter participation and about the alienation or disaffection of citizens from the political process: The whole scam called Democracy relies on the consent (even passive consent) of the victims. Government knows this and spends big bucks on "Rock The Vote" and "Get Out The Vote" campaigns with celebrities and every other bell & whistle. Declining rates of voters is a positive thing. It means people are waking up. 

Who knows? Perhaps someday, the "nondemocratic power" that rises up may turn out to be Liberty!

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