[lit-ideas] Fukuyama, Sen and Democracy

For those interested in such things, Fukuyama has an opinion piece in
the Washington Post.

http://tinyurl.com/5opnna

It is an interesting piece suggesting that, despite appearances, we
are not seeing a return to 19th century power politics nor to the
totalitarian systems of the 20th.  Fukuyama sees hopeful signs in the
fact there are no global ideologies competing with liberal democracy
and capitalism.  On the other hand, he warns of the danger of a global
capitalism confronting shrinking natural resources.

What I think Fukuyama is overlooking is the relationship between
capitalism and democratic institutions.  There are the obvious risks
involved in investing capital in countries with autocratic
governments, see for example Venezuela, as well as the obvious
benefits of a democratic system that empowers all citizens with the
opportunity to pursue their individual goals within a legal system
that aims for equal and fair justice.  However, in response to
Fukuyama's warning of possible stress over shrinking natural
resources, I am thinking specifically of a provocative argument made
by Amartya Sen, a Nobel prize winner in economics, that democracies
are best suited for responding to economic as well as other kinds of
disasters.

Sen argues that a political system where citizens are able to exercise
political rights, is more open to pressure to respond to suffering.
Using a free press as well as the right to protest, people can
pressure governments into responding to suffering that might otherwise
be ignored.  In short, societies with effective democracy are more
likely to suffer less when economic, or other kinds, of crises hit.
The interesting claim that Sen makes is that there has never been a
famine in a country that is independent, democratic and has a
relatively free press.

I think Fukuyama is right in his analysis that we are not seeing a
return to 19th or 20th century politics, but I think he fails to
recognize the relationship between democratic institutions and
economic or material conditions.  Autocratic governments, like those
found in Russia or Iran, may become more dangerous as stress
surrounding natural resources increases, but the democratic
institutions existing both within these countries as well as
throughout the world, offer hope that war is not inevitable.


Sincerely,

Phil Enns
Yogyakarta, Indonesia
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