The Choice of Democracy

"Democracy is a bad way to govern, but all other forms of governing are even worse!," Winston Churchill is reputed to have said, and as Prime Minister of England during the Nazi blitz of World War II, he knew better than most. Today democracy faces a different onslaught, one involving technology and apathy. It is time we revitalized democracy.

Democracy grew from men and women in the ancient marketplaces in Athens, Greece, running into each other, talking and arguing as they did, and deciding to formalize the experience. "Rule by the people" was born. Our marketplace today is online, and most of our conversations happen through the Internet. How does democracy cope with that? Technology makes democracy hard when we spout off opinions and rarely coming to a compromise (hard to do that when you don't see the other person!).

Most industrialized nations face a dwindling number of voters and uninterested publics. It's hard to imagine the spirit that drove a few passionate (crazy?) souls to revolt against England in the 1770s. Today, we are far more comfortable and live better, longer and more desirable lives, yet are less involved in politics. Democracy is irrelevant.

Truth is, democracy might be poised for rebirth only if we use our imagination.

Former Israeli Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami said democracy is not a project, it's a process. By that he meant the little daily things we do that make democracy come alive and incrementally build on its progress.

We need more democracy at home, for example. It's sad that while we live in a democracy many families operate as dictatorships. Children consulted about major family decisions? Not likely, yet we expect them to grow up and fully participate in the democratic process. If we cannot practice democracy at home, how can we really practice it in the world?

Skeptics point to the original Athenians and their male-dominated, slave-owning society producing democracy to counter this argument. But if these Athenians would have been more egalitarian and less exploitative, maybe their democracy would have lasted far longer than it did.

Workplaces are the last to embody democracy. Capitalism, it is said, works best in an authoritarian regime. Yet democracy could become a greater part of the factory system, making workers feel a greater stakehold in the operation.

In the classroom there could be more democracy. I try to bring this element to my classes, because I think students learn better if they vote more in the process.

Fanciful? Democracy has always been a fanciful idea. This is what makes it so powerful and slippery. It is a process. And processes are not smooth, nor fun, nor interesting. Instead, they are boring, tedious and painful.

I think technology is a boon to democracy. Not just blogs and its endless chatter, but cellphones that bring people to a rally. Emails that forward interesting articles. We can never be far away from information and information always helps democracy.

Apathy? This is a problem of the video generation. If we change our habits, maybe the young (notoriously un-democratic) may come around.

Certainly in my classes I've seen this, so I am not talking mincemeat here. It can happen. I hope it will.

Democracy needs to survive, even if it is a rotten way to govern.

Taso Lagos is a lecturer in the Department of Communication at the University of Washington.