The last time democracy nearly died all over the world and almost all at once, Americans argued about it, and then they tried to fix it. “The future of democracy is topic number one in the animated discussion going on all over America,” a contributor to the New York Times wrote in 1937. “In the Legislatures, over the radio, at the luncheon table, in the drawing rooms, at meetings of forums and in all kinds of groups of citizens everywhere, people are talking about the democratic way of life.” People bickered and people hollered, and they also made rules. “You are a liar!” one guy shouted from the audience during a political debate heard on the radio by ten million Americans, from Missoula to Tallahassee. “Now, now, we don’t allow that,” the moderator said, calmly, and asked him to leave.
In the nineteen-thirties, you could count on the Yankees winning the World Series, dust storms plaguing the prairies, evangelicals preaching on the radio, Franklin Delano Roosevelt residing in the White House, people lining up for blocks to get scraps of food, and democracies dying, from the Andes to the Urals and the Alps.
In 1917, Woodrow Wilson’s Administration had promised that winning the Great War would “make the world safe for democracy.” The peace carved nearly a dozen new states out of the former Russian, Ottoman, and Austrian empires. The number of democracies in the world rose; the spread of liberal-democratic governance began to appear inevitable. But this was no more than a reverie. Infant democracies grew, toddled, wobbled, and fell: Hungary, Albania, Poland, Lithuania, Yugoslavia. In older states, too, the desperate masses turned to authoritarianism. Benito Mussolini marched on Rome in 1922. It had taken a century and a half for European monarchs who ruled by divine right and brute force to be replaced by constitutional democracies and the rule of law. Now Fascism and Communism toppled these governments in a matter of months, even before the stock-market crash of 1929 and the misery that ensued... (Jill Lepore, NewYorker - continues)
In the nineteen-thirties, you could count on the Yankees winning the World Series, dust storms plaguing the prairies, evangelicals preaching on the radio, Franklin Delano Roosevelt residing in the White House, people lining up for blocks to get scraps of food, and democracies dying, from the Andes to the Urals and the Alps.
In 1917, Woodrow Wilson’s Administration had promised that winning the Great War would “make the world safe for democracy.” The peace carved nearly a dozen new states out of the former Russian, Ottoman, and Austrian empires. The number of democracies in the world rose; the spread of liberal-democratic governance began to appear inevitable. But this was no more than a reverie. Infant democracies grew, toddled, wobbled, and fell: Hungary, Albania, Poland, Lithuania, Yugoslavia. In older states, too, the desperate masses turned to authoritarianism. Benito Mussolini marched on Rome in 1922. It had taken a century and a half for European monarchs who ruled by divine right and brute force to be replaced by constitutional democracies and the rule of law. Now Fascism and Communism toppled these governments in a matter of months, even before the stock-market crash of 1929 and the misery that ensued... (Jill Lepore, NewYorker - continues)
What causes the failure of democracy? Is it the failure of the government to provide stability for its people? Is it the fact that people are in charge and get over come by greed? In our current society, is capitalism failing or thriving?
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DeleteI don't necessarily feel as though capitalism is failing in our society but rather we the people are failing to support our checks and balances system. When we begin to allow individuals to be seen as "above the law" we a have failed our democratic system.
DeleteErin Rone section 05
DeleteI'm not super knowledgeable about economics, but I do feel like there are issues with American capitalism. Not that capitalism itself is evil but that America has taken it too far.
I agree with your second comment as well. I think the people of America hold responsibility for our system failing. At the same time, it can feel like nothing we ever do will matter or actually affect change. We try to make the right decisions, but it's hard to stay informed. I constantly find out that I've based opinions on only half the story. I wish the whole story of issues was more accessible.
I believe that in order to make democracy a more effective form of government, the average joe/ordinary american should be more involved in government. The idea that we vote for candidates to represent the american people makes no sense because more often than not, the candidates we voted for usually never uphold the things and ideas that they said they would. Transparency is key.
DeleteI believe a failure in democracy is due to a failure of a society to hold its leaders accountable for their actions. We are consistently failing democracy and we should take action to halt our current course. #6
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