The primal heart of twenty-first century democracy

We think without question that our democracy is ‘modern’. How could the default political system of the twenty-first century be otherwise? Rivals such as communism that once threatened to usurp it have been comprehensively defeated. So democracy claims to be the final resting point of centuries of Western political progress.

But democracy’s triumph has made it a Narcissus. Without a rival or opposing critique, it stares at its own reflection and finds no flaws. As a result, it has no coherent lens through which to explain the deep problems that are now evident within it. These include record low levels of public support for democracy, low election turnouts and a fracturing of support for major political parties. Its myopic line of sight likewise struggles to account for the failure of its institutions to address the big challenges of our time, such as climate change and inequality.