Young Europeans losing faith in democracy, poll finds
Young Europeans losing faith in democracy, poll finds
Support is lowest in France, Spain and Poland, while 21% back authoritarian rule under certain circumstances
I'm not losing faith in democracy, I'm losing the little faith I have in the political parties that call themselves democratic.
I'm losing my faith that capitalism is compatible with democracy in any way. The blatant corruption of all mainstream political parties across all western "democracies" is a core part of that.
Given that the alternative was "authoritarian rule under certain, unspecified circumstances", what does "democracy" even mean here? Was it presented as a binary choice? That is misleading.
I guess the original question was the typical "Do you trust the government" question. And with conservative governments presiding over a slow decline in living standards while doing nothing to challenge the status quo, it is no wonder they don't trust the government.
I couldn't tell from a quick read of the article (and couldn't find an English version of the study) but it didn't seem like it offered democracy and authoritarianism as the only options.
As (an older person) who leans anarchist and has lived through many problems with democracy I agree with the concerns of these young people. However, my alternative isn't authoritarian rule.
Yes people can dispute the practicality of anarchism, or grossly misunderstand it, I'd disagree with them, but point being there are good if not idealistic alternatives to democracy.
This is a very weird framing of this study. The original study (which is linked in the article) is in German. Those who don't speak German will find a useful translation provider, I provide the study's summary literal translation:
>Young people: EU and democracy are good, but reforms are needed
- 57% prefer democracy to any other form of government - 39% think that the EU does not function particularly democratically
- Young Europeans want change - 53% criticize the EU for being too preoccupied with trivialities instead of focusing on the essentials
- Cost of living, defense against external threats and better conditions for businesses should be priorities for the EU
- Only 42% think that the EU is one of the three most powerful global political players
Among others, the study also says (again, a direct translation, I am not paraphrasing):
48% of young Europeans believe that democracy in their country is under threat, compared to 61% in Germany. Two thirds rate their country's membership of the EU as positive. At the same time, 53% of young people criticize the fact that the EU is too often concerned with minor issues. Half of 16 to 26-year-olds think the EU is a good idea, but very poorly implemented.
I don't say that everything is perfect, but the whole study paints a completely different picture than this article - and especially its headline - appears to suggest.
[Edit my comments for clarity, translation has not been edited.]
"Democracy is a device that insures we shall be governed no better than we deserve."
George Bernard Shaw
Bourgeois liberal democracy
I’ve lost faith in the so called elite controlled “democracy”.
I haven’t lost faith in rule by the people ie. democracy. I just don’t believe its compatible with heirarchies.
Ie. I’ve become an anarchist. So arguably I believe in democracy way more now.