Is Liberal Democracy In Danger Of Extinction?

(CTN News) – Liberal democracy is not sustainable because democratic processes and institutions have alienated the people they are supposed to serve.

Illeberalism has taken root and grown exponentially as a result of a crisis of credibility, as described in these articles.

It is generally believed that politics is not a reliable tool for resolving problems, and conventional politicians receive a negative appraisal in general.

The bureaucracy survives as a necessary evil and the judiciary falls far short of the expectations of the public. The mainstream media is also seen as being in cahoots with political and financial power. As a result of popular culture, there is a widespread sense of distrust for the ‘system’, the existing architecture that holds democracy together.

Due to the wide reach of the internet and social media, as well as the free flow of communication, the feeling of disempowerment has been exacerbated.

There is no doubt that illiberalism feeds on public grievances – whether real or imagined. In the process of growing, it undermines everything that is fundamental to liberal democracy.

Specifically, it is an ideology that rejects the existence of independent institutions as checks on government power. Aside from promoting authoritarian rule, it also dismisses the idea of disagreement in the public sphere.

The People Vs Democracy, by Yascha Mounk, observes: Citizens are less committed to democracy and more open to authoritarian alternatives than they were in the past.

The respect for democratic norms and rules has precipitously declined. In most parts of the world, democracy is now deconsolidating rather than being the only game in town,” he says. It is no different in India.

“Observers who are most concerned about the illiberal attitudes of the populists fail to acknowledge that there is something democratic in the energy driving them.”

Autocrats gain power through elections, a perfectly legitimate process. Popular will can be used to justify their actions.

Liberals, discredited as they are, are unable to oppose such a position, regardless of how convoluted it may appear.

Democracies do not appear to be in good shape at present. People as well as ground have been lost, neither of which can be easily and quickly recovered.

In reality, liberals cannot offer a solution for people’s grievances, and, in fact, may aggravate them further by adopting a dictatorial approach that offers little room for compromise and reconciliation, but they have no alternative.

Does there seem to be a way for them to regain the confidence of the public and regain their respectability? There will be a long and arduous journey back.

Any such effort should be accompanied by true intent and action. By removing elite control over power and privilege and reconnecting with people, they must reestablish democracy as a democratic institution.

It is necessary for them to ensure that democratic institutions serve the purpose for which they were established. Watch out for how they reconsolidate democracy.

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