WE, IN THE Philippines, are rather proud of being the first Republic in Asia, and we can say the same for our role in democratic politics through the People Power Revolution. But the time of democracy is coming to an end, I think, and that isn’t just conjecture on my part either.
A report from the Centre for the Future of Democracy at Cambridge Society showed that 57.5 percent of citizens of the nations who participated in a worldwide study were not satisfied with democracy.
Furthermore, the study showed that ¾ of Americans had been satisfied with democracy before the 2008 financial crisis. When the study released its findings, it found that 55 percent were dissatisfied.
Given the results of the recent US presidential election, I expect that Americans will become even more dissatisfied with their electoral system, and it’s only going to get worse from there.
Regardless of whether Donald Trump, Joe Biden or neither emerges victorious in the 2020 election, almost half of the US will think democracy has become a sham.
If Trump wins, those who voted for Biden will say that the US is now under a fascist government. If Biden wins, they will say America’s elites have stolen the election using the most blatant means. Either way, democracy and liberalism are dying in the US.
Now, the question is what will happen to democracy in the Philippines when that takes place.
For a long time, America was the main pillar of democratic principles, even though it is a republic. If that’s no longer the case, democracy becomes obsolete. Will the Philippines follow an obsolete system of government or will we follow or copy whatever the US or some other country comes up with?
I don’t have an answer.
But those who think that democracy is eternal and that nothing can ever replace it are delusional. All forms of government are transitory, and democracy is more transitory than most.
If the US’ democratic crisis continues to spiral out of control, it would be interesting to see how it could spread to the other countries, perhaps even to our own./PN
