Why you can't run a democracy with people who are in love with decline

#5

“Democracy is the government of the people, by the people, for the people.” – Abraham Lincoln

Dear Friends of Democracy, 

People tend to believe in the apocalypse. Always had. Especially when times seem confusing, and circumstances are challenging. This applies to developments in society as a whole as well as individual fates.

As I perceive it, belief in the apocalypse is currently increasing …

… at both ends of the political spectrum. Some believe the world will end due to the climate crisis. At the other end, it is preached that these climate activists are dragging us into the abyss. Energy crisis, combustion engine shutdown, fossil fuel heating ban, rising CO2 price. Along with the migration topic and the supposed decline of the economy, a neat doomsday scenario is told here in Germany by many people, of an impoverished country, exploited by other states and overrun by foreign cultures.

Is this a problem for democracy? I think so.

You can't run a state with these people. They are in love with the decline, not the solution. They want others to have it no better than them, better worse. They wallow blissfully in the supposed decline of society because it allows them not to take responsibility for their own lives. They have been socialized believing that life has few good things in store for them. What do I know what the reasons are! Psychologists and sociologists will understand what's going on here. What is crucial here is that such people cannot be reached with serious solutions. The prospect of change for the better is not in demand. They don't believe in improvement, in anything good, so they vote for politicians who say that something better and sound won't come.

There is a but

However, that's not entirely true, as many apocalypticists also hope for the good, namely for salvation after the apocalypse. The kingdom of heaven after the big bang. The strong leader after the end of the (sometimes so laborious and complicated) democracy. The fabulous life, in harmony with nature, once exploitative capitalism is abolished. You name it.

What does democracy need to develop?

These apocalypticists have in common that they do not look for pragmatic, small steps towards a better life in the here and now and do not want to work on it. But that's exactly how democracy works. Step by step. Difficult, sometimes with an uncertain outcome. But usually, it is successful because many people take part and can take part because democracy allows everyone to do so. May there always be enough people who participate in this search for a better life!

See you, 

Johannes Eber