Monday 7th September - 06:00 PM BST
Main Debate: Democracy and its Perils
People Power From China to the US
From Western liberal democracies to China’s “people’s democracy,” almost everyone claims to be democratic. Even Putin holds elections. “Undemocratic” is an effective insult to hurl at any opponent. But there are radically different visions of democracy. The Chinese Communist Party argues that only the iron discipline of a single party can defend the common will of the people, and that its local elections allow communities to replace underperforming officials. Yet in the West, ideological competition between parties is seen as core to democracy—though critics argue that there is little real ideological difference between dominant parties. Meanwhile, some see populism as a democratic fightback against elites, while others call it anti-democratic. Increasingly, we can’t agree on what democracy is, or even whether it’s the best form of government.
Rather than equating good government with democracy, should we instead ask whether governments are improving living standards? Is it time to drop the term “democracy,” and talk instead about more concrete ideas, such as elections and wealth redistribution? Or is democracy still our best weapon against tyranny?
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Herman Cappelen
Herman Cappelen is a leading philosopher of language and a pioneer of "conceptual engineering." He is the author of The Concept of Democracy (Oxford University Press), where he argues that the word "democracy" fails to pick out anything real, is persistently abused for rhetorical ends, and should be abandoned altogether.
He is Chair Professor of Philosophy at the University of Hong Kong, where he leads its MA in AI, Ethics, and Society and co-directs the AI & Humanity research centre, interrogating the ways in which AI interacts with and transforms humanity.
Priyanka Chaturvedi
Priyanka Vickram Chaturvedi is an Indian politician who served as a Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra and is a former Deputy Leader of Shiv Sena. Previously, she was one of the National Spokespersons of the Indian National Congress.
Timothy Garton Ash
Timothy Garton Ash is a leading historian, political writer, and one of Europe’s most compelling defenders of free speech and liberal democracy. He is Professor of European Studies at the University of Oxford and a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University.
Described by the US diplomat George Kennan as writing the "history of the present" — bearing witness to events as they unfold — Garton Ash's work has earned him the Order of Merit from Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic, and the Order of St Michael and St George from the United Kingdom. He has written eleven books, with his twelfth, Europe in 7½ Chapters, due to be released in October.
"The best and most perceptive political writer of our time." — John Simpson
