We never know who is going to rule, but the beauty of democracy is that we know we can always get rid of them. So why wouldn’t we fight like blazes to preserve it?
David Runciman – the celebrated podcaster and Cambridge professor of politics – joked to me and our fellow panellist, Masha Gessen: “The answer is obviously ‘no, it’s not’, so why don’t we all just agree and go home?”in Sydney. Most had come to hear these intellectual superstars define the limits of political self-sacrifice; I cheerfully served as a bolt-on historian.
“Well, there’s the vote,” I said, a freedom that took centuries to gain. “And, um, free speech. And civil liberties. And equality before the law. And the freedom to worship and to fall in love with whomever we like.” Fast forward a century: by 2000 there were 120 democracies, the highest number in human history, according to Freedom House. And democracy’s dream run continues for many: the world is seeing more thanand voters refusing to be gulled by Russia and other tyrannous regimes who try to addle our brains with disinformation.
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