The Brewing Storm of Crises

A convergence of crises is currently brewing. This storm is fueled by lingering public anger towards governments for their singular focus on Covid, the lasting damage caused by lockdowns, mask mandates, and vaccine requirements, and the media's role in amplifying government-induced fear. Additionally, social media platforms' collusion with innovative censorship techniques, cost of living pressures, the Ukraine war, the housing crisis, cultural decay, and the social dislocations caused by mass immigration all contribute to this storm. A survey conducted earlier this year in France, Germany, Italy, and Poland found that 60 percent of voters lack trust in political institutions.

Public Trust in Politicians and Institutions

Politicians are increasingly perceived as dishonest, incompetent, and lacking courage and integrity. This sense of being unheard and vilified has eroded public trust in the institutions that underpin democracy. According to the 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer, less than half of the people in high-income developed countries trust their government, media, businesses, and NGOs. In Australia, governments scored -21 for competence and -5 for ethics. Pew Research Center polls show trust in the US government falling from 77 percent in 1964 to 22 percent in 2024.

Threat to Free Speech and Civil Liberties

Headlines highlight a growing crisis of free speech and civil liberties, posing a threat to Western liberal democracy. Power and rights are being transferred from citizens to the state as the latter attempts to impose its dogmas on people, sometimes in defiance of biological reality. Online safety measures risk becoming censors' charters. Australia's eSafety Commissioner seeks to control what can be said online. In a peculiar legacy of Australia's first female PM, a recent court ruling prioritized transgender rights over women's rights, ruling that lesbians may not lawfully exclude biologically male but legally female persons from a women-only dating app. The case is known as Tickle v Giggle.

Europe and the UK: Rise of Populism

When ruling elites discuss diversity, they often mean state-enforced conformity. The perception that established parties treat voters with contempt has led to election gains for so-called populist parties and movements from Italy to the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, France, the UK, and Germany. 'Populist' is often used pejoratively by mainstream political leaders and media. A woman in Europe who complains of being stalked by a 'visible minority' immigrant risks being labeled a racist, victim-shamed, and told to be quiet. A politician who addresses her fears is derided as populist.

Populism Defined

The term populist originates from the concept of the popular will, used to describe policies that resonate with a large number of voters who feel their concerns are dismissed and ignored by the governing, cultural, corporate, intellectual, and media elites. This has led to a mass revolt against the homogenous political establishment and the scorn and sneers of the commentariat. People have had enough and are refusing to take it anymore. Even white upper-class liberals living in affluent suburbs, who previously didn't care, are awakening to the problems of mass immigration when it infiltrates their neighborhoods.

Canada and the US: Censorship and Democracy

In Canada, courts have given regulators the green light to subject professionals like Jordan Petersen to Maoist 'reeducation' courses for commenting on social and political issues, outside their professional roles and platforms. In the US, the weight of the democratic world is such that what happens in America doesn't stay in America. The health of democratic practices and freedoms is at stake in the upcoming elections, and the rest of the world also has a stake in the outcome, including the prospects for war and nuclear war.

Imperil Democracy in Haste, Regret the Loss in Leisure

Having grown up in India after its independence, I took the reality of multiparty democracy for granted. This democracy draws its legitimacy from the people through competitive elections and constitutionally protected liberties and freedoms. However, in 1975, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a national emergency and ruled for two years as a dictator, jailing political opponents and critics, imposing wide-ranging media censorship, and curtailing civil liberties.

Bottom Line

The lessons from these experiences are twofold. First, we tend not to truly appreciate the rarity and value of a free society until we lose it. Second, democracy ultimately rests on a belief in the good sense of the people. However, should American voters elect Kamala Harris as the next president, they may discover the truth of the first lesson and invalidate the second. What are your thoughts on this matter? Share this article with your friends and sign up for the Daily Briefing, which is every day at 6pm.