THE West – a metaphor abused and rarely understood – is nearing its end. Its decline is no longer exceptional but emblematic. In fact, credible augurs claim its demise is no more than 20 years away. Democracy, for its part, never truly rose from the grave after its passing more than 2,000 years ago.
What is democracy? On paper, it is an arrangement grounded in unconditional pluralism and unreserved respect for individuals, administered by honest civil servants in an atmosphere of frugality, transparency, uprightness, strictly limited terms of office for all officials – elected or unelected – alongside direct citizenship participation. The individual – not the pack, not the people, not society – is the cornerstone of any community worthy of the name. Over body, property and mind, the individual is the uncontested sovereign. True democracy upholds the indisputable supremacy of the individual over the collective. Yet today it is a chimera rather than the system proclaimed to be in force.
