Up until the 19th Century, "democracyA system of government based on the idea of rule by the people." was a dirty word. It meant the direct rule of the mob - or chaos.

Today, all that has changed. Democracy is seen by many as the best form of government.

After the collapse of the Soviet UnionOfficially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). A powerful group of communist republics, the biggest being Russia, that existed from 1922 to 1991. in 1991, many thinkers confidently declared that the 21st Century would be the democratic century.

Political theorist Francis FukuyamaAn American political scientist best known for his argument that the whole world will one day embrace liberal democracy. even argued that all states would now move gradually towards democratic systems.¹

Now, in 2024, this looks very naiveShowing lack of experience or knowledge.. Even the world's most powerful state, the USA, seems to be heading towards autocracyA society ruled by a single person or group with absolute power..

Last week Donald Trump told a crowd of supporters that if they vote in this election, "you won't have to vote any more".² Critics say he is implying he will create a dictatorship in the USA.

So why does autocracy seem to be winning out over democracy?

Some argue it is because dictatorships have become more sophisticatedFor example, artificial intelligence can now be programmed to teach itself - suggesting robots could develop many of the qualities that make us human.. In the past they had to maintain their rule through fear alone.

But today dictators sit at the heart of complicated networks of money and media. They can control what information reaches their people. And they can flood the western world with their propagandaInformation, which may be biased or misleading, used to promote a certain viewpoint. to undermine democratic systems.³

But others say this was always going to be the outcome of modern democracy. They say it all dates back to 1819 and a Swiss-French thinker named Benjamin ConstantA Swiss political thinker and republican, born in 1767. .⁴

He claimed true freedom means being left alone by the government. You could even be free under a dictator if they respected your rights.

Yet that is what dictators say to their people today: stay out of politics and we will leave you to get on with your life.

So it is little surprise democracies are crumbling, some suggest, when we have already sacrificed our historic right to make our own laws in favour of a quiet life.

Is democracy dying?

Yes: As crisis engulfs the world, people will keep looking to strongmen to save them. Autocracies like China and Russia are in the ascendant. American democracy is teetering on the brink.

No: People around the world still want to live in democracies, including in Venezuela, China, and Russia. Their dictators will not be able to keep the lid on that pressure forever. The future is still free.

Or... Autocracies are not more successful than democracies, but they are more self-confident. If democracies want to survive they have to find their optimism again.

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