Connor Whitesell

The Death of Democracy

Democracy is disappearing from the world. Well, it is actually being consumed by globalization.
Globalization is gorging itself on democracy and it wont stop until it is done eating.
Globalization is like a hungry man at a feast. He does not stop eating until he is about to burst or
someone else stops him. Globalization is consuming Democracy and our future, like a feast, day
by day.
ome of you may be wondering what globalization is. Globalization is not a dark, scary and
undefinable thing. The definition of globalization is !the de"elopment of an increasingly
integrated global economy marked especially by free trade, free flow of capital, and the tapping
of cheaper foreign labor markets#$%erriam Webster&. What this means is that globalization is the
e'pansion of cultures, ideas, economies and religions to different places around the world.
(ecause of this e"er e'panding force that is globalization, democracy is disappearing from the
face of our planet. The "oid left by communism had to be filled and the thing that filled it was
globalization. Globalization filled this "oid perfectly, it allowed countries to )oin the world
market that were left behind in the cold war era regime. *t also powered huge e'pansion in the
modern world through easier trade and the ability to communicate faster than e"er before.
The beginnings+s of globalization marked a time when e"eryone was satisfied by it.
Globalization bettered the li"es of many and most importantly it filled a need. This is great until
globalization wasn+t content with )ust filling this "oid. *t wants it all, it needs the whole worlds
appro"al, it is in its nature. (ecause of this, globalization began to threaten democracy, it+s only
other competitor.
,s stated in (arber+s work titled -ihad "s. %cWorld, !.ast Germany/s 0eues 1orum, that
courageous gathering of intellectuals, students, and workers which o"erturned the talinist
regime in (erlin in 2343, lasted only si' months in Germany/s mini5"ersion of %cWorld#
$(arber 3&. *f this group of people that stood against talin in east Germany could last less then a
year in a mini5"ersion of globalization how could democracy stand against this world wide
"ersion of globalization6
The answer is that Democracy cannot stand up to the e"er encroaching force of Globalization.
Democracy and Globalization work against each other. ,s stated in an article written by eth
%adel, !They seem to often work against each other. pecifically, the economic growth that
stems from a globalized economy creates winners and losers7and neither seems particularly keen
on establishing true democracy# $%andel&. *f Democracy is to sur"i"e globalized, the world must
be rethought and changed to fit democracy.
ome may say that this is Dramatic, that these two ideas will ne"er be able to coe'ist. * and
people like (en)amin (arber and -ens (artelson, both renowned political scientist say,
!Globalization poses a threat to the democratic state instead of aiding its e'pansion# $Crockett&.
(en)amin (arber proposed the idea of confederal unions in his book -ihad "s. %cWorld. The
idea of confederal unions is that current go"ernments should break apart into smaller societies
for day to day operations while we are still connected by markets that are larger then current
nation state $(arber&. While others say that China has figured out the answer which is that both
of these forces are too powerful and too large to share the same world or county $%andel&. 8ou
ha"e to chose which one you want, the all connecting all consuming power of globalization or
the freedom that democracy pro"ides.
The author G. 9. Cherston stated in his book What is Wrong With the World, !Compromise used
to mean that half a loaf was better than no bread. ,mong modern statesmen it really seems to
mean that half a loaf is better than a whole loaf# $Chesterton 24&. *n this case * do belie"e that it
is better to ha"e half rather than the whole. * belie"e that we must choose democracy o"er
globalization. * belie"e that (arbers idea of confederal unions is the most logical. 0ot only
because it is a compromise but it is also a way to sa"e democracy. That way our world could
truly be run by the people because the !nations# of this world would be much much smaller than
they are today. The T.D talk that (arber ga"e was called !*f %ayors :uled the World.# *f
%ayors ruled the world democracy could flourish again.
Globalization is changing our futures and choices day by day. We need to choose the future we
want to li"e in. Globalization and democracy will ne"er coe'ist. Do you want to stay connected
at the price of democracy6 8ou decide. (ut don+t wait too long or globalization will consume
you and your choices.
Word count; <3=
Work cited
(arber, (en)amin :. -ihad "s. %cWorld. 0ew 8ork; (allantine, 233>. ?rint.
Chesterton, G. 9. What/s Wrong with the World. 0ew 8ork; Dodd, %ead and, 232@. ?rint.
Crockett, ophie. AHas Globalization pread Democracy around the World6A.*nternational
:elations. 0.p., %ar. B@2@. Web. @C 1eb. B@2=.
AGlobalization.A %erriam5Webster. %erriam5Webster, n.d. Web. @< 1eb. B@2=.
%andel, eth. AGlobalization and Democracy Can Coe'ist D Commentary
%agazine.ACommentary %agazine :. 0.p., BC Dec. B@2C. Web. @= 1eb. B@2=.