Are we seeing a decay in democracy? Tri-Citians can find out at the Badger Club meeting

Is democracy in crisis?

The data are unambiguous. According to the non-government organization Freedom House, for each of the past fifteen years democracy around the world has declined, a stunning reversal from the steady trend of democratization that began in the 1980s.

Given that democracy is in retreat across the globe, it makes sense to assume that there are broader forces at work. Many observers point to globalization and technological change. Changes in the international economic landscape have led to a decline in global inequality — that is, inequality between countries — while increasing inequality within them. In other words, while China and the US become more economically equal, inequality has risen within both countries. Economic, social, and political power concentrates in a smaller group of elites. Meanwhile, average citizens experience an increasing sense of precariousness, undermining their faith in institutions and paving the way for radical, reactionary, and populist views.

This is a powerful explanation, though it may overlook an underlying issue. The modern world is built on liberalism — in essence, a belief in the centrality of individuals and individual freedom and autonomy, the role of rationality and science, and an understanding of history built around the idea of progress.

Democracy is an expression of these assumptions, and even non-democratic ideologies in past, such as communism and fascism, took up the claim of science and progress. But we should recall that prior to the Enlightenment, societies did not view themselves this way — as collections of autonomous or rational individuals who were part of society’s progress. History instead moved in cycles, knowledge and technology was gained and lost, people were buffeted by fate and the will of the gods. It stands to reason that the Enlightenment values which gave rise to liberalism will themselves eventually pass from the scene.

Might it be the case that the decay of democracy is merely a symptom of a larger decline in the liberal ideal?

By this I mean not just democracy, but the very belief that there is progress, and that people can be masters of their own fate? Political actors across the ideological spectrum now use language that appears to reject the very foundations of liberalism itself. For example, for them it is not that Americans have strayed from the Constitution — it is the Constitution itself that is a mistake.

It’s unclear what such “post-liberal” critics would replace the modern world with, but the absence of an alternative does not mean we should not take them seriously. A delegitimization of our basic assumptions for how a society should function, especially in the absence of an alternative, is likely to court even greater disorder.

The Columbia Basin Badger Club will be discussing these and other issues related to the current state of our democracy at a special forum to be held on Thursday, Feb. 3 at a special time, 1 to 2 pm. You can register for this event at columbiabasinbadgers.com to receive a confirmation and link to join the forum. Cost is $5 for nonmembers, while club members can join for free.

This story was originally published February 1, 2022 at 1:48 PM.