jeremy snyder’s meta|remix

i just finished reading fareed zakaria’s book. it was an interesting read, with some real insight in some areas, and deeper examination of certain issues than i probably ever would have considered.

i definitely don’t agree with everything in the book, but there are some interesting points. some thoughts:

• as i understand the author’s definition of illiberal democracy, it’s more about the distribution of power than it is about the personal freedoms in society. however, the effect in the u.s. of the “illiberalization” of democracy is an increasingly authoritarian white house that has been eroding personal freedoms, along with other actions.
• but direct democracy (e.g. all decisions made by all voters) is also unsustainable. you elect people for a reason, and every time their decision-making gets politicized, the greater good can suffer.whether we like it or not, western liberal democracies have elites as well. they’re now more democratic and diverse than before, but they no longer have a moral sense of obligation to public service. this is probably not a good thing.
• there must be a balance. that balance may exist across the broad scale, e.g. all institutions are equally liberal, or it may work in such a way that some institutions are naturally fully democratic, while others are more controlled. there are interesting arguments on both sides for almost all institutions.
• democratization and capitalization of things has led to some paralysis. special interests have the right to speak as much as others, and more money to get themselves heard. this has led to political pandering and lack of interest in the moral or ethical right, or the common good, in most political decision-making.
• economic stability should probably come before democracy in developing countries. this makes sense to me, too.
• however, economic stability that relies on natural resources controlled by the minority does not usually succeed over the long term.