Credit:Matt Davidson

But liberal democracies no longer see themselves the way aspirants see them. A free media rightly keeps us alive to all the faults of the West,while the faults of the alternative are distant or abstract and largely historical. It is one of the enduring ironies of the liberal democratic tradition that its greatest strength is that it empowers citizens to examine and criticise the liberal democratic tradition – and for that reason,the faith in liberal democracy can wane and weaken.

There is plenty to criticise. Free societies are entrepreneurial in finding new ways to fail. According to the 2023Democracy Perception Index,the populations of democratic countries are sceptical of their governments and often critical of how well they are allowing democracy to function. Only 58 per cent of people in free countries agree their country is democratic.

Loading

The United States was once the great global beacon of liberal democracy,but parts of the US now look more like a Third World country than a triumph of the free market and the rule of law. Racial and financial inequality have been compounded by a democratic marketplace of lousy solutions. Disadvantage,poor mental health management,drug addiction and homelessness have created pockets of squalor that are a humiliation to a wealthy nation.

In France,the boulevards are burning after police murdered a 17-year-old of North-African origin. In Australia,children are stealing food out of other kids’ schoolbags as inflation hits vulnerable households. TheGerman quasi-ponzi-pension system is teetering on the edge of collapse.

In the face of such shame,can we celebrate the fact that journalists highlighting these troubles are not silenced or imprisoned? Is it appropriate to point out that autocraciesdisappearthese weeping social sores in unpalatable ways?

Advertisement

Thriving global corporations,big-tech companies,including the social media giants,are both a success and a rightful source of anxiety. Meta hasn’t ended up with more information than the KGB through espionage but because we eagerly uploaded our lives to its platforms. Big corporations have too much power because we keep buying their products. Some people worry that the “platform economies” created by big tech are a threat to the nation state. They work brilliantly for white-collar globalists,but what of the rest? Both the benefits and the downsides of these companies are attributable to liberal democracy.

Loading

In 2016,Western faith in liberal democracydipped. Almost a quarter of respondents to the Lowy Institute’s annual poll said that,in some circumstances,non-democratic government might be preferable.

In other anglophone countries,voters took a punt on disruption. Donald Trump became US president while the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union. The UK now suffers frombregret,post-Brexit regret,while the US wrestles with whether it might democratically re-elect aformer president who has undermined trust in the democratic system. As the wonderfully curmudgeonly columnist HL Mencken famously said,“Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want,and deserve to get it good and hard.”

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky waits for a meeting at NATO.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky waits for a meeting at NATO.Credit:AP

Democracy has never meant social harmony. In fact,sometimes it seems to lead to the reverse. The countries of the West are consumed by culture wars. The battle is vicious between competing visions of equality,which emphasises opportunity,or equity,which seeks to put everyone on the same level. Who gets to define themselves as a woman is under bitter dispute. For a while,at least,Vladimir Putin’s discriminatory attitude to LGBTQ+ people was celebrated by some culture warriors as a sign that Russia must be strong. How wrong that has turned out to be,asRussia is forced to hire in mercenaries to replace the citizens who fled conscription.

Despite all our flaws,the flow of people continues to be from less-free countries to those with greater freedom. Migrants don’t get on unsafe boats to get to China. The Ukraine war,which made Sweden and Finland’s desire to become NATO members more urgent,is being waged becauseUkraine wants to be part of the free world,not part of an autocratic neo-USSR.

Loading

The greatest insult the West could deliver these hopeful people is to allow the weaknesses that spring from liberalism to trigger the collapse of the whole liberal democratic project. If there is ever a Christmas truce in the culture wars and a pause in the partisan battle,this is the reflection for which it should be used. The “other side” isn’t evil;it is vital. Differences of opinion aren’t the end of democracy;they are its foundation. There is incredible strength in a system that can criticise itself.

The NATO summit just gave us a moment to remember what we’re doing right. We’ll be a better partner to the vulnerable if we don’t lose sight of it. As Winston Churchill said,democracy is the worst form of government,except for all the others.

The Opinion newsletter is a weekly wrap of views that will challenge,champion and inform your own.Sign up here.

License this article

Most Viewed in National

Loading