Democracy is the worst form of government...

...except for all the other ones that have been tried.
-Winston Churchill

Introduction: But seriously: maybe we should spend a little time evaluating how democracy is working in this country. From the moment we enter school, the wonder of democracy and its heroes are trumpeted. We sing songs and make colorful collages glorifying its virtues. Considering that we are raised in this evironment of pseudo-indoctrination, it is no wonder that most of us view democracy as the culmination of humanity's march to social perfection. Perhaps this never-assailed assumption could bear some more impartial reconsideration.

Don't get me wrong, I am not trying to talk you into giving monarchy another try. I just think that, judging by the less-than-objective way we learned about our system of government, we might benefit from a little reevaluation of democracy (or, more specifically, our brand of representative democracy).

Evaluation
In order to investigate just how well democracy appears to be working, I'm going to select a few issues and discuss how democracy has tackled them. These examples will be very broad with many simplifications, but bear with me.


War
Let's look at how America goes to war. The most recent American military egnagements were:
1. Iraq, part I
2. The Yugoslavian conflict
3. Afghanistan
4. Iraq, part II

For the first two wars, the stated motivation was intervention to bring to a halt immoral action. For the second two, the stated reason was a response to a direct threat to ourselves. In one case, the threat was based upon the evidence of an attack on the US; in the last case, the threat was a predicted, future one.

So, in two cases, democracy went to war in order to intercede on others behalf. Without looking at the specific examples, we can conclude that the American democracy is willing to commit itself to helping others.

In the two final examples, we engaged in war on our own behalf. The first was in reponse to 9/11, and waged against the country that harbored those responsible for the attack. Lastly, Iraq part II, was based upon several premises which have now been proven untrue. Simplified: Americans are willing to engage in war to protect ourselves, even if from a perceived future threat.

Summary: In terms of war, American democracy is sympathetic enough to intercede on others' behalf. It is also quick to act in its own defense, in some cases before the evidence and justification are properly considered. So our grade: overall, pretty good. We could certainly be doing a lot worse, though perhaps a more rational consideration of the facts is in order at times.


Economy and personal welfare
In general, the American public walks a line between a libertarian philosophy of economic darwinism, and a socialist belief of redistributing wealth in order to ensure that everyone is priviledge to basic amenities. Over the years, we vascilate between these two philosophies, but usually strike a balance between the two.

This is a very broad subject, but I would like to suggest that we examine a subset of our economy in order to understand how it works as a whole. The example: health care. Health care is a prime example of America's middle-ground stance on economics. Health care in this country is privatized, but basic care is also extended to some of the population that cannot afford it.

Basically, health care is one area in which it is clear that the system is not working. Americans pay more for health care than any other people in the world, yet America has a higher percent of people without insurance than just about every other developed nation (15.7%, or 45.8 million people!!!). Further: the majority Americans, when explained the details of a state-run healthcare system, would prefer that method over our current situation. Clearly, something is wrong if most people would prefer the system work a specific way and yet the problem persists.

Summary: As seen in the example of our health care system, our system is failing, in some cases, to correctly meet the desires of the people. As this is the stated goal of democracy, the system is not serving its purpose.

Environment and Climate Change
There are no two ways about it: the facts of climate change are terrifying, and our reaction has been poor at best. The world faces an impending catastrophe, and the reaction within the country has not been promising.

To help make my point, here's a similar scenario, with the difference that this one happens over a period of days instead of decades:
Terrorism experts conduct numerous investigations and concur, with 95% agreement, that al Qaeda has a terrible new weapon. It will destroy many of the world's major cities, unleash disease that will infect millions, drive billions from their homes, destroy food and water supplies, and cause tens of trillions of dollars of economic damage. It will threaten the survival of the human race, and certainly send us into chaos. The experts warn that the only way to confront this threat is to dramatically cut back on the fossil fuels we consume.

Wouldn't it seem ridiculous if, following this warning, half the country began nit-picking at the experts' evidence and credentials, while the other half, wary of their political image, advocated adopting only a tenth of the experts' recommended strategy?

Clearly, our system is not working in this case. We have been unsuccesful in understanding and reacting appropriately to this threat. We are far too complacent and unwilling to respond.

This exposes a major flaw of our democracy: we are poor at considering the big picture and acting in our own best interest in the long term.



Two ideas on how to improve our system
I believe that much of our problems are rooted in education and accountability. Here are two methods that might improve our system and decision-making process. One is educational, the second involves incentives.

1. My (un-egalitarian, heretically anti-constitutional, half-serious) Educational Solution
Before any person is allowed to vote, they must answer 10 factual questions that would test their understanding of relevant and important issues. They would be required to score a 50% or better before being allowed to vote.

In this scenario, those with a poor understanding of the issues are removed from the process. The country as a whole is forced to better educate itself on the issues.

2. The Incentive Scheme Solution
Another major problem with our present solution is that voter turnout is very, very low. Most of the country feels disenfranchised. Perhaps if we implemented some basic incentive scheme, such as a $10 tax refund with proof of vote, it would encourage people to re-engage themselves in the process.