Oct. 17 (Bloomberg) -- All together now: We like democracy
because ... why? The pathologies of the U.S. version are so
obvious in the aftermath of the latest averted crisis that we
need to ask ourselves whether it’s worth it -- and why electoral
democracy hasn’t self-destructed before. Should Tunisians or
Egyptians opt for the Chinese model, where rational autocrats
may restrict rights, but no one threatens to blow up world
markets in the name of an 18th-century tax protest?
There is an answer: Democracy is self-correcting, at least
where it works. The key to the process is a version of supply
and demand. When a politician acts in a way that doesn’t serve
the voters’ interests or desires, demand for that person’s
services should decline. Another candidate who fills the demand
will get elected.
