Title:   A 21ST CENTURY MODEL FOR SHAPING GLOBAL DEMOCRACY

Abstract
Globally, democracy is under attack and in retreat. Economic crisis, global
pandemic, and climate disaster raise questions about the efficacy of democracy
and democratic values as guides for political and economic life. There are
increasing global disparities of wealth between rich and poor in democratic and
nominally democratic states and a growing lack of social mobility. The
catastrophic effects of the global COVID pandemic on health, economy, and
social solidarity are another global fact of life. The worsening effects of climate
change-driven floods, droughts, and crop failure raise questions about the value
of democracy. We face common and unavoidable global challenges. These are
toxic brews driven by worsening climate change that will lead not just to natural
disasters but also to crop failure, epidemics, mass migration of the desperate,
failed states, and resource wars. This is combined with deepening inequality as
the rich get richer. This is a central feature of 21st century capitalism, where
labor is systematically devalued in the world of high-tech production and
trading in information. Traditional social democratic measures may work well in
Scandinavia, but even there they are challenged by the underlying global social,
economic, and ecological imperatives that give rise to anti-democratic and anti-
immigrant populism. The challenge is to find ways to share the social product
fairly and justly among all in a political economy with a multitude of
increasingly casual and insecure workers ruled by a handful of billionaire
owners. This is a global challenge, not simply for wealthy social democracies.
The challenge to democracy is global and must entail global convergence on
sustainable ecological and just norms for all.
Keywords: Democracy, Constitution, Century, Economy and Health

Citations:

Publication Date: 2024-03-18