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Dissatisfaction with democracy 'at record high'

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    Dissatisfaction with democracy 'at record high'

    I maintain the referendum was a protest vote against the very establishment we all have issues with. Whether it be expenses, telling bared faced lies to the pubic or indeed the queen, or watching the 1% of society like the JRM's filtering money away to tax havens whilst complaining about US corporates doing the same. A new system is needed, MP's must be held to account, no more immunity to the rule of law the rest of us must abide.

    The whole thing stinks.


    Dissatisfaction with democracy within developed countries is at its highest level in almost 25 years, according to University of Cambridge researchers.

    Academics have analysed what they say is the biggest global dataset on attitudes towards democracy, based on four million people in 3,500 surveys.


    The UK and the United States had particularly high levels of discontent.


    "Across the globe, democracy is in a state of malaise," report author Roberto Foa said.


    The study, from the University of Cambridge's Centre for the Future of Democracy, has tracked views on democracy since 1995 - with the figures for 2019 showing the proportion dissatisfied rising from 48% to 58%, the highest recorded level.


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    "We find that dissatisfaction with democracy has risen over time and is reaching an all-time global high, in particular in developed countries," Dr Foa said.


    The research, covering 154 countries around the world, is based on asking people if they are satisfied or dissatisfied with democracy in their own country.


    Data for some countries goes back to the 1970s and the long-term picture recorded a steady upwards swing of the pendulum towards more satisfaction with democracy through the last decades of the 20th Century.

    The economic crash and widening social divisions have been linked to a loss of confidence in democracy
    This was an era of the collapse of Communist power in Eastern and Central Europe and the apparent ascendancy of Western democracy - with "global sentiment" appearing to be supportive of the rise in democracy.


    But over the past decade, this appears to have shifted steadily in a more negative direction - with rising dissatisfaction.


    The study suggests this could reflect political and social reverberations of the "economic shock" of the financial crash of 2008 and disquiet from the refugee crisis of 2015 and "foreign policy failures".


    It warns of a loss confidence in democracy and says the rise of populism is not so much a cause but a symptom.


    In the UK, the study says, from the 1970s satisfaction with democracy rose consistently for 30 years - reaching a high point in the years following the millennium.

    But it has slipped downwards since 2005 - following global trends such as the financial crisis and national controversies such as MPs' expenses.


    And researchers say there has been a more recent plunge in satisfaction, which could reflect the political stalemate around Brexit, in surveys carried out before December's general election:


    In 1995, the proportion of those dissatisfied with democracy in the UK was 47%
    In 2005, it reached its lowest point - 33%
    In 2019, in surveys before the general election, it reached 61%
    The US, meanwhile, has seen high levels of satisfaction - about 75% between 1995 and 2005 - followed by a "dramatic and unexpected" decline, to below 50%.

    Homelessness in Los Angeles: The US has seen a sharp fall in satisfaction with democracy
    Such cynicism might not be unusual in some countries but Dr Foa said it represented a "profound shift in America's view of itself".


    The study says satisfaction has deteriorated in the wake of the financial crash, with political polarisation and deepening levels of distrust.


    But a group of European countries has been bucking this trend, with satisfaction with democracy higher than ever before in Denmark, Switzerland, Norway and the Netherlands.


    "If confidence in democracy has been slipping, it is because democratic institutions have been seen failing to address some of the major crises of our era, from economic crashes to the threat of global warming," said Dr Foa.


    "To restore democratic legitimacy, that must change."
    source: Dissatisfaction with democracy 'at record high' - BBC News
    "Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience". Mark Twain

    #2
    The problem with 'democracy' as it stands is that you do not really get to vote on the key issues.

    Yes we vote which 'party' are going to be in power possibly based on a manifesto which they have no intention of following through on (and all parties are to blame for that).

    What we actually need is a more representative form of democracy - for example why not a 'digital democracy' E-democracy - Wikipedia

    at a very basic level instead of 600 odd MP's voting for things based purely on self interest you can have possible 40 odd million doing the same thing - which could work out better.

    In addition large government spanning projects - such as HS2 - again are voted for by the public and not by a few MP's trying to sort their mates a nice construction contract - and once voted for they get delivered e.g. it is not a something the government can control or use as a lobbying platform.

    But I cannot see anyone who currently is in politics or wanting to be an MP ever seeing this as a step forward because they are all self serving ******* whose sole interest is themselves.

    Comment


      #3
      Could we try to Chinese system for 5 years then see who wants democracy back?

      Of course, it would have to be ChairmanBrillo.....

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by BrilloPad View Post
        Could we try to Chinese system for 5 years then see who wants democracy back?

        Of course, it would have to be ChairmanBrillo.....
        Just cos people are dissatisfied with democracy it does not mean they want communism.....

        But I reckon you know that!

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by original PM View Post
          Just cos people are dissatisfied with democracy it does not mean they want communism.....

          But I reckon you know that!
          Most of the time people don't know what they want.

          Though most people get fed up with growing levels on inequality.

          Another more issue is more graduates than ever and not enough jobs for those graduates. Hard to see a way out of that.

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by BrilloPad View Post
            Most of the time people don't know what they want.

            Though most people get fed up with growing levels on inequality.

            Another more issue is more graduates than ever and not enough jobs for those graduates. Hard to see a way out of that.
            This is a problem - and for me it is the a problem generated by pointless ******* desperate to be seen as middle class.

            My kids are now getting to that point where they are moving towards A-levels and the concept of either of them not going to university as giving them palpitations - I mean how could they possible feel superior to other people in their social circles if they cannot 'brag' about which University the oh so clever grand daughters are going to and why that is better than the University your granddaughters are going to.

            Classic example of this is that my sister in law got married to a squadie after he left the army - they got married quite 'late' in that I think they were both 38 or something - anyway when he left the army he was encouraged by sister in law and father in law to go to university and get a degree because it will open doors and he can earn more money.

            So he now has a degree in History and Politics, he worked for about 2 years in recruitment (because yeah in reality a 38 year old ex squaddie with a degree in history and politics and an expectation of a large salary is not actually an attractive proposition for many companies) and now he 'runs his own business' which seems to mean he 'stays at home all day sat on his arse doing nothing'

            Anyway the advice he should have been given is to either get a trade or take a course in basic coding or whatever as it would have made him a lot more employable.

            So to sum up - we need to stop the middle class ******* looking down there noses at people who do not go to university because university does not necessarily mean you are employable.

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by original PM View Post
              Just cos people are dissatisfied with democracy it does not mean they want communism....
              But how would you feel about an non-democratic capitalist system?

              Originally posted by original PM View Post
              So to sum up - we need to stop the middle class ******* looking down there noses at people who do not go to university because university does not necessarily mean you are employable.
              Quite. We need to go back to the days when only 13% of the population went to university, so we really had grounds to feel superior to the oiks.
              Down with racism. Long live miscegenation!

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by NotAllThere View Post
                We need to go back to the days when only 13% of the population went to university........
                back in those days...

                The majority of students were male, the females stayed at home with the embroidery making babies, the youngsters were sent down the coal mines,

                Ahh the good ole days.
                "Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience". Mark Twain

                Comment


                  #9
                  It's spin. So after the referendum "we didn't know what we were voting for". Now, after the Tory win in the election, "satisfaction with democracy low".
                  I wonder whether they'll make it a hatrick if Trump wins the election next year?

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by original PM View Post

                    So to sum up - we need to stop the middle class ******* looking down there noses at people who do not go to university because university does not necessarily mean you are employable.
                    Completely agree.

                    Of all my friends, the one in the best situation is the one who didn't go to uni, started working in IT when he was 18 and worked his way up to a 120k job. Still as passionate of his job as in his first day. Never been unemployed.

                    On the opposite side, there's my depressed friend with 2 MSc and a PhD in Biology, after not finding work for 1 year he now works in a food factory doing some bulltulip 50 hours/week QA job for probably 35-40k.

                    I myself would probably not go to uni if I could go back in time. NOTHING I studied turned out to be useful in real life (if we exclude those 2-3 times at the pub quiz)

                    Comment

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