Democracy is on its last legs
Dabing Li says now and in the past, democracies have failed to work as promised. Inevitably, they become a race to the bottom for the vote of the ignorant masses, resulting in disastrous policies
The ongoing Occupy movement by pro-democracy protesters has wreaked havoc in Hong Kong. There is no end in sight. Yet, in this melodramatic saga, we may be forgetting the basics: What exactly is "democracy"? Who deserves it? Does it really work?
Western-style "democracy" is a seductive proposition, especially for those with little education and achievements but loaded with "grievances". However, if we look through human history, it seems that this "democracy" hasn't really worked too well.
"One man, one vote" was first instituted in Greece around the fifth century BC and now - with its many mutations - dominates the Western world. But it has inherent problems. The voting masses are often ignorant of the issues at hand and susceptible to political manipulation. Witness the ascent of Adolf Hitler, the democratically elected leader of the German Third Reich.
In recent years, "democracy" seems to have failed in many other places, both socially and economically, and often in glaring fashion. In 2008, the global financial crisis engulfed the world. It started in the US where democracy has, for decades, bred generations of consumers who have had the notion of entitlement ingrained into their minds.
In that name, they indulged themselves, lived beyond their means, and elected politicians who engaged in perpetual popularity contests by promising voters all kinds of free economic and social benefits funded by taxes and the treasury. Apparently, such democracy can help the lower ranks achieve the "American dream" - a suburban McMansion; hence, subprime mortgages to help low-income people buy one.
These subprime junk loans exploded after having been encouraged by the US Congress, extended by happy bankers, then diced, sliced and packaged into asset-backed securities, and sold to financial institutions all over the world. The inevitable mortgage defaults in 2008 triggered the global financial crisis. Was that American democracy at work?
