Recent events in the United States have given us a good look at how a country fares when trust in its institutions is undermined by power-focused people's tribunals. This raises the question of whether we sufficiently realize the value of democracy to us as citizens. In this edition of the General Government Performance Index, I explore how democracy translates into tangible returns relevant to citizens.
Flickr-Daniel Huizinga
In democracies, it is the voters who determine who holds power. At the same time, however, companies and other organizations spend billions every year on lobbyists and other advocates who 'help' them to influence the same politicians and governments voted into office by the people. By nature, lobbying takes place outside the general public's view and seeks beneficial results for those employing them. In this article, I argue that in a democracy such as ours, this discrepancy between open elections and hidden influence is a reason for great concern. I also make suggestions for introducing better safeguards to prevent perverse incentives in political advocacy from undermining the structure and organization of our democratic system.
The current occupant of the White House has a personality structure that is difficult to reconcile with the democratic and separation-of-powers system of the country he administers. In this article, I elaborate on this fact and try to find out what we should fear the most if he wins the elections in November or contests the election results.
Under the current president of the United States, that country is unlike anything its name suggests. The absolute separation of minds along party lines, the racial bubbles and prejudices, the perception of fact and fiction, and the hypocrisy surrounding religious experience makes it difficult to find anything in common that binds Americans together. How bad is it really, and what can we expect from the future?
Adam Zylgis (www.adamzylgys.com)
What to do, if time and again, an organization looks away whilst playing a facilitating role in actions that profoundly affects the lives of young people. No, this is not about Facebook, but about the Catholic Church. It is time that the organization which knowingly and for decades looked away from abuse by its priests and protected those perpetrators, obstructed justice and withheld justice to the victims is being held accountable for its actions and omissions in this matter. This article investigates whether legal options are available.