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Democracies can become sick, but also heal
montblanc Updated: 2004-03-01 09:33
There is a lot of democracy bashing in this Chinadaily Forums, just because one of many other forms of democracy in the world, namely the US democracy, has produced some very saddening results under president Bush.
I find this indiscriminate democracy bashing unjust against all the other democracies in the world, especially the Europeans, which function better than the US, but also not without problems. Bash only the Americans for having let president Bush destroy the former faith the democratic world had in the USA example.
The US democratic failures are also discouraging for some 15 to 20 countries in former Soviet Europe and in Latin America, few in Africa, who try hard to set up in their countries democratic Governments, Administrations and Armies.
The old and new democracies, together with India, will count up to about 36 per cent of world population, which should numerically not be threatening, but has over 80 per cent of the world's economic product. This economic importance of democratic countries is probably the biggest reason why democracy is hated.
All enlightened democrats in Europe know very well, out of their own experience, that their democracies need constant improvement and surveillance. to avoid failures. But as any living organism, democracies can have, and had follies and grave infections such as a kind of "democratic SARS". We know it and for those who don't, I recommend to make a Google run on the words "democracy failures". You will learn a lot.
One cannot deny that the democratization of the world, in different forms, had a major importance for peace keeping, as there was no war between democracies over the last 100 years. But you are free to ironise, that crows do not pick each other's eyes.
But , and I say "please", do not deny the history of a social experience, the democratization, which began in ancient Greece with Aristotle, continued with Kant, and then further developed by thousands of thinkers and is now the choice of some 2 billion persons of this world.
Most of these democrats are probably more sick, angry and sad about what the Bush crowd has done to discredit democracy, than alls the different non-democrats.
| The above content represents the view of the author only. |
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