Yesterday I threw out the Mirriam-Webster definitions of democracy in this blog. The United States has always been held up as the paragon of democracy and the ‘shining light on the hill.’ It turns out that is really no longer true. I found a study that was done in 2017 that ranked 167 countries on a scale of 0 to 10. Only those countries that had a score above 8 were considered ‘full democracies’.1 The US did not make the list and, in fact, was called a ‘flawed democracy”, because of a score of 7.98. One has to remember that this study was done in 2017 – before the refusal of Trump to concede the last election; before the insurrection of January 6th; and before a number of states passed laws restricting the rights of voters.
The five criteria that were used to rank these countries were: whether elections were free and fair; whether governments have checks and balances; whether citizens are included in politics; whether citizens support their government; and whether or not they enjoy freedom of expression. There is no doubt that, given these criteria and the events that have occurred since the original study in 2017, the United States would fall even further down the list. That is the direction the country is going.
The countries that ranked (in order) ahead of the United States in this study were: Norway, Iceland, Sweden, New Zealand, Denmark, the Republic of Ireland, Canada, Australia, Finland, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, United Kingdom, Austria, Mauritius, Malta, Uruguay, Spain, South Korea. You will realize quickly that most of these countries are European. I also find it interesting that Mauritius (an island nation in the Indian Ocean), Uruguay and South Korea all rank ahead of the United States.
There are a few other interesting things that are interesting to point out. Most of these countries, particularly those that are ranked the highest, i.e. the Northern European countries are all countries that have high tax rates, robust infrastructures and some form of universal health care. So, to those that argue that high tax rates and universal health care are all ‘socialist’ reforms desired by ‘liberal’ democrats, the data do not support those positions. (Not that facts matter to Republicans any more).
Another interesting thing to point out is that many of these countries are either currently or have in the past been led by women. Denmark, Iceland, Germany, Finland and New Zealand are all currently led by women.
Of all the countries on this list, there are only two where abortions are illegal – Mauritius and Malta. However, it is widely recognized that induced abortions are very common on Mauritius, even though it is illegal. And women in Malta have relatively easy access to other nearby European countries where abortion is legal. Abortions in South Korea were decriminalized at the beginning of this year.
The simple fact is that the political climate in the United States is continuing to dim the light of democracy. If you look at the criteria used in this study, it is easy to see the demise of democracy in the United States:
FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS – there are still a large number of people who believe there was widespread election fraud in the last election, even though there is absolutely no proof that will stand up in a court of law to support that claim.
GOVERNMENTS HAVE CHECKS AND BALANCES – Two failed attempts to convict an impeached president, a politicized Supreme Court, and a Congress that acts almost solely in partisan ways have severely hampered any thoughts of checks and balances.
WHETHER CITIZENS ARE INCLUDED IN POLITICS – All of the recent laws restricting voter access, excessive gerrymandering and seemingly unlimited amounts of money poured into political campaigns by wealthy individuals are significantly limiting the ability of ordinary people to have a voice in government.
SUPPORT THEIR GOVERNMENT – The dysfunction of Congress over the last decade and the increasing polarization of the parties has led many, many Americans to have little faith in the Government at all. The current problems caused by the polarization around the pandemic is a stark example.
ENJOY FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION – So far, the press has been able to remain relatively free. However, there have been many, many threats to change that.
Democracies generally don’t disappear overnight. The foundations are nibbled away until it is too late. I would like to think that the current trend can be reversed at some point. But some days, it is very difficult to be optimistic and assume that the ‘light on the hill’ will continue to shine. It is already dimmer than it once was. I truly believe that we are at an inflection point in American history and the next few years will cast the die and set the course for the next generation of Americans. We can aspire to climb back up the mountain of democracy and repair the beacon on the hill or slip into the abyss of authoritarianism and minority rule. Unfortunately, those who continue to push conspiracy theories and misinformation have already made their choice.