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Of Idiots and Autocrats
Democracy as a form of government doesn’t seem to be getting much respect these days.
Instead, autocracy seems to be gaining ground, increasingly demanding to be taken seriously on the stage of world affairs.
We frequently hear that democracy and Western values no longer work in the 21st century, that they are too slow, and too indulgent, and that countries and organizations need strong rulers whose hands are not tied by legions of bureaucrats, who are free to take decisive action rather than engage in endless discussion.
I can sometimes see how such arguments can appeal to folks in theory.
However, it is hard to find many examples of this sort of autocracy working well in practice.
As if he knew we were feeling a need for more real-world tests of these ideas, Russian President Vladimir Putin has mounted an attack on Ukraine in recent days — er, weeks — er, months — to give us all an example of how effectively a powerful autocrat can realize a decisive victory for the benefit of his followers and fellow countrymen.
As we all know by now, what must have sounded so good in theory has not been working out so well in practice.
But we don’t need to look to foreign leaders for our examples.
