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Summary The people vs democracy by Mounk (2018)
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The people vs. Democracy: Why our freedom is in danger & how to save it by YaschaMounk
Introduction
A liberal democracy needs both of its elements to survive. Liberalism and democracy. A system
were people call the shots ensures that the rich and powerful cannot trample on the rights of the
lowly. By the same token, a system in which the rights of unpopular minorities are protected and
the press can freely criticize the government ensures that the people can change its rulers through
free and fair elections. Individual rights and popular will go hand in hand so the story goes. This
does not mean there is a stable system. Democracy without rights has the danger of turning into
the tyranny of the majority, meanwhile rights without democracy can turn the political system in
a playground for billionaires and technocrats, excluding the people from more and more
important decisions.
Illiberal democracy (democracy without rights)
Populists claim, an honest leader –one who shares the pure outlook of his people and is willing to
fight on their behalf- needs to win high office. Second when this leader is in place, he needs to
abolish the institutional roadblocks that might stop him from carrying out the will of the people.
In their view the will of the people need to be mediated and any compromise with minorities is
corruption. In this way they are deeply democratic but also deeply illiberal.
Hierarchical democracy (Hungary p. 10) allows popularly elected leaders to enact the will of
people as they interpret it, without having to make allowances for the rights or interests of
obstinate minorities.
Undemocratic liberalism (rights without democracy)
In Greece (p. 12), the force of the markets and the belief of technocrats pushed aside the will of
the people.
As views of the people are trending illiberal and the preferences of the elites are turning
undemocratic, liberalism and democracy are starting to clash.
Three striking constants that characterized democracy since its founding are no longer true:
1. Living standards no longer increase (as much), trust and optimism in politicians has
evaporated. Citizens are anxious about the future, gain for immigrants or minorities will
come at their expense.
2. In all history of democracy, one racial or ethnic group has been dominant. Decades of
mass immigration have changed this. Immigrants insist they can be citizens of their new
countries, whilst many natives agree, some do not and rebellion is starting to amass.
3. The rise of internet and particularly social media has rapidly shifted the power balance
between political insiders and political outsiders. Instigators of instability have gained an
advantage over the keepers of order.
,Action is needed on three fronts:
1. Reform of economic policy to temper inequality and live up to the promise of rapidly
rising living standards.
2. We need to rethink what membership and belonging might mean in a modern nation
state. Focus must shift to what unites, rather than what divides.
3. We need to learn to withstand the transformative impact of the internet and social media.
Education must not only focus on what to write, but also on what to understand.
Part One: The crisis of Liberal Democracy
Contrary to Dahl (who provides a definition of democracy in which liberalism and democracy
are difficult to separate), Mounk uses a simpler set of definitions:
- A democracy is a set of binding electoral institutions that effectively translates popular
views into public policy
- Liberal institutions effectively protect the rule of law and guarantee individual rights such
as freedom of speech, worship, press, and association to all citizens (including ethnic and
religious minorities)
- A liberal democracy is simply a political system that is both liberal and democratic
Chapter 1: Democracy without rights
Defender of populism are right that populists often channel the voice of the people in a genuine
way. But they fail to mention, how deeply illiberal a lot of the energy behind the rise of populism
is. In the long the rise of illiberal strongmen can lead to authoritarian regimes (Turkey, Russia,
Venezuela). However populists are not in favor of abolishing democracy. PEGIDA and Trump
for instance see elections as an opportunity for ordinary people to assert their voice. To
understand its nature, we must first realize that it is both democratic and illiberal. To understand
its effects we must realize that these liberal institutions are needed for democracy to survive.
Politics is simple (and everyone who disagrees is a liar)
Simple solutions are at the heart of populist appeal. Voters do not think that the world is
complicated. They don’t like to hear that there is no immediate answer to their problems. Once in
power populists are likely to exacerbate the problems that drove public anger in the first place.
Another danger populists’ penchant is, if solutions are so easy, then political elites must be
failing to implement them for one of two reasons: either they are corrupt, or they are secretly
working on behalf of outside interests (right and left, see pp. 38-41).
I am your voice (and everybody else is a traitor)
Populists claim that major political problems can easily be solved, it just takes common sense.
Populists claim to be the voice of the people (Trump, Le Pen, Erdogan, Hofer). When populists
invoke the people, they are positing an in-group – united around a shared ethnicity, religion,
social class, or political conviction – against an out-group whose interests can rightfully be
, disregarded. Political consideration is owed to some, not all. When populists are running for
office they direct their ire against ethnic or religious groups whom they don’t recognize as part of
the real people. Once they hold office, they increasingly direct their ire against a second target:
all institutions, formal or informal, that dare to contest their claim to a moral monopoly of
representation. In early phases this leads to distrust and even hated of the free press as they cover
protests against the leader, be sympathetic with his victims etc.
In the next step the war on independent institutions targets foundations, trade unions, think tanks,
religious associations, and other nongovernmental organizations. They know these institutions
that have a real claim to the views and interests of society, are a danger to them, as they claim to
be the voice of the people. They work hard to discredit them, limit foreign funding and use
control of the regulatory state to impede their organization.
The most ruthless attacks are usually reserved for organization not under the direct sway of
populist government (public radio, ethnic watchdogs, independent electoral commissions,
military etc.). When they don’t obey it is brushed as treason and they are then reformed or
abolished.
In the face of populists’ claim to be the sole representatives of the popular will, politics quickly
becomes an existential struggle between the real people and their enemies.
The people decide (to do whatever they want)
It is impossible to make sense of the rise of populism without facing up to the ways in which it
claims the mantle of democracy.
Chapter 2: Rights without democracy
Liberal democracy is all things to all people: a promise to the masses to let them call the shots; a
promise to minorities to protect their rights from an oppressive majority; and a promise to
economic elites that they will be allowed to keep their riches.
The founding fathers did not believe a representative republic to be second best; on the contrary,
they found it far preferable to the factious horrors of a democracy.
With the coming of the internet people could in practice rule themselves.
Another reason why democracy’s founding myth no longer has the same hold over us; political
elites have insulated themselves from popular views to a remarkable extent. Whilst the system
was never designed to let the people rule, it did have important elements of popular participation.
Decisions were mostly made by an elected legislature that had deep links with constituents from
all parts of the country. They often had an ideology behind them and would return to their own
people after leaving office. The legislature today has lost much of its power to courts,
bureaucrats, central banks, and to international treaties and organizations. Meanwhile the people
in the legislature have become less similar to the people they are meant to represent.
Limits on electoral institutions
complexity of regulatory challenges has increased over the years. Also more problems now have
global roots. These changes prompt power away from national parliaments. It is not a result of
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