IN DEFENSE OF DEMOCRACY

Across Europe the increasing influence of right-wing extremism challenges the ideal of a civic democracy based on decency and a sense of compromise. It raises the question whether our democracies can survive when the populace votes by stamping its feet in response to ad hoc anxieties or raw self-interest and social exclusion. At the root of this development is the mounting uneasiness with the presence of – what people see as – an alien Muslim culture. This sentiment is further exacerbated by the severe economic troubles that have hit the entire western world. The current circumstances are an eerie reminder of the situation in the late 1920s and early 1930s when democracies were swept away by militant right-wing dictatorships attacking our civilization at its very roots. Of course, the comparison is flawed by many accounts, if only because no such militancy has surfaced in our present day nor are the economic prospects as depressing as in that particular period. But even if in terms of severity our present world is a paradise of wealth and peace compared with the conditions of the 1930s, we should not turn our eyes away from certain current trends which of themselves can not be described in diminishing terms.


New cultural elements cause widespread uneasiness and enstrangement

First of all there are above societal trends, which I would categorize as follows:

• social values have become diffuse as have the societal codes of behavior; there is a marked rudeness and impoliteness in the public debate and a popular culture which heralds hedonistic vulgarism;
• old left-wing solidarity has been rather rudely shifted aside in favor of uninhibited materialist egoism;
• equality and non-discrimination have to be defended against mounting stigmatization and outright discrimination of minorities such as Muslims, Roma

Each of them undermines the integrity of our societies which constitute the foundation of our public institutions and of the written and unwritten rules by which they have thus far been able to serve the common good.

Secondly, I see parallel a trend which in my view is largely a consequence of the above. The past decade has shown increasingly erratic voter behavior, with the public exerting pressure on parties to offer immediate satisfaction rather than sound long term views and nourishing leadership based on populism. This development coincides with a gradual shift in generations. The ideals of the past four decades have worn out but few substantial concepts or visions as yet have replaced them. Ironically the emphasis among younger generation appear to be more conservative than that of the previous generations, thus reinforcing the shift to the right in the broader social-economic spectrum.


Rightwing populist Geert Wilders of the Netherlands

Admittedly, all of the above is a matter of perception too. I am part of the aging Baby-boom generation and thus it is only natural that my observations include an element of regret (not necessarily discontent) about the general drift of our societies and the diminishing relevance of the civic values by which I have grown up. Yet I also believe it is more than just that; more than a mere difference in taste or personal preferences.

Evolution of culture is one thing, but it is very difficult to ignore the potential harmful consequences of societal disintegration and of a lack of responsibility for the longer term. Major challenges lay ahead but they have somehow disappeared from the agenda, in part because of short term financial pressures but also, I believe, because they offer little appeal for politicians to gain – or sustain - their popular support. Issues such energy, climate change, maintaining the fabric of world peace and security, including the fabric of the European Union itself, have almost, so it seems, become suspect. Anyone who raises it with any degree of seriousness as simply cast aside. It is not a conscious process, but it is distinct phenomenon: our real concerns being driven away inadvertently by our short term hypes and anxieties.


Wrung from history: Europe's institution for peace and security

In the end, this will undermine the credibility of our democracies too, and it is in its ultimate defense that I raise this topic. In their extremes the above trends, if unchecked, could well lead to an increased call for authoritarian rule, both as a result of sustained discontent and of even greater challenges being posed on our societies. They may either come from within or outside – or both. Natural disasters, armed conflict at larger scale, mass insurgence against new shortages and so on. Under those circumstances the constitution of our democracies will come under new, additional pressure. It is not difficult to paint a scenario in which all of these different existing and possible future developments arrive at a boiling point in which our democracies crumble largely because we have forgotten how to run them properly.

Civic responsibility and the orderly conduct of our public interests are a concern to us all, whatever preferences we have or whatever choices we make. Political parties should be responsive to the public’s needs but should also be able to project substantive leadership beyond short term pressures. All of it seems obvious and almost needless to say.

Yet so many things that may have been obvious are not any longer. Civic education can not be taken for granted. Democracy requires tolerance and responsibility at all levels, and this includes the voter. Whether or not historic precedents are relevant in all respects, we can at least derive serious lessons from them and steer clear from unnecessary disaster.

THE COSTLY DECADE AFTER 9/11

In the aftermath of the 9/11 commemorations people in America and elsewhere in the world may forget the sequence of events that followed and which in hindsight could be viewed as a disaster at least of similar magnitude. I was reminded of this when some young friends asked me to watch Michael Moore’s documentary Fahrenheit 911. It has been a while since I last saw it. “Will we get opinions only, or facts?” they asked beforehand. As far as I knew it largely offered facts, images, but obviously construed in such a way to see the events from a specific angle. And this is what I told them.

My young friends are adolescents now, but at the time they still were kids. So this was the first opportunity for them to observe and evaluate for themselves the successive actions of the Bush Administration after September 2001, ultimately leading up to the military intervention in Iraq. They ware truly horrified. Of course, in this documentary Michael Moore leads us to see the pre- and post-9/11 events as one huge conspiracy in which President George W. Bush served as nothing more than as a dumb witted pawn in the hand of corporate interests out to get as much profit our of Middle East oil as they could get their hands on. The dramatic onslaught of 9/11, in their eyes, served as a blessing, not as a tragedy. The Republican-Corporate elite concocted the case for democracy and freedom in the Middle-East to the benefit of their own pocket books and in the process sacrificed the lives of many more American people – young men in particular – than the number of people who lost their lives in the initial terrorist attack. And even though this is a very subjective, highly cynical interpretation, it is very difficult to escape the notion that the American people were misled in believing that in toppling the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein, something effective was done to avert a substantive and immediate threat to their own security. It was by no means a response to an actual, immediate threat of terror but rather a pre-emptive action to safeguard America’s economic interests.


The great sacrifice after 9/11

I have been highly critical of the Bush Administration throughout its tenure and even though I would not readily concede to conspiracy theories or to US presidents serving their own interests only I can not help but see the entire history of the years between 2000 and 2005 as a tragic mishap for which taxpayers and citizens world wide are paying a colossal price. What strikes me most of all is how we tend to forget this and blame the current economic slump and lack of new progress on the present-day administration.

Massive military spending, hundreds of billions of dollars, went into a war that as been questionable from the onset and it has drained the American – and world - economy to such extent that it wasn’t able to sufficiently counter the burst of the financial bubble that ensued in parallel. We got stuck, in America and elsewhere, and much of it is to blame on the expensive illusions that have been kept alive, indeed by very self-centered interests – not merely of politicians and corporations - throughout the past decade.


The president is who is largely blamed for the consequences of the past

It will take the western economies at least another decade to recapture sufficient financial strength and inspiration to get on with the job of making the world a better place. The implication is that a great many urgent innovations in energy, ecology and market efficiency will take much longer to materialize and that they will only come about if governments accept sustained austere budget policies for a considerable period. All of this will keep people across the world – including people in areas of conflict – on a tight string and this may again trigger new outbreaks of violence.


When will new stability and growth return?

Seen from this angle, I much regret that I can not tell my young friends that any time soon the outlook of our world will substantially improve. Many uncertainties remain and thus they too will pay part of the bill of the wasteful previous years. At the same time it is important that they grasp the historic context in which they make their own decisions, from every possible viewpoint. The conundrums of their world are not an act of God but the result of willful actions of people, both for better and for worse. They too can dream of their own contributions and learn from the judgments of people in the past.