This Is How Democracies Die

[Belsnickel]

(01-25-2018, 06:09 PM)michaelsean Wrote: So when we've actually lost our democracy, what will it look like? I understand they say the losing of it is subtle, but how will we know when we've lost it?

It's hard to say. I mean, we probably each have our own thresholds. You would first have to ask what the defining characteristics are of a democratic government, and then assess how well we meet those standards.

I tend to agree with Dahl's framework for a polyarchy (what some call a representative democracy). His standards are effective participation, voting equality, enlightened understanding, control of the agenda, and inclusion of adults. These standards should then result in consequences such as political equality, guarantee of essential rights, moral autonomy, economic prosperity, and human development (progression of society/education).

How effective is our participation? How equal are our votes? Does the citizenry understand things in government? Do we control the agenda? Are all adults included?

Also, these aren't perfect standards, just some of the best ones I have seen that are widely used.