Abstract

Presently accumulating problems of democratic governance among diverse cultures and complex technological advances have become paramount in today’s global village. Democracy is everywhere lauded as an ideal and nowhere practiced as such. It even appears in a beleaguered state and defensive position. So, our question now is what do we mean by democracy and then how close can we attain it under the present demanding circumstances of rapid historical change and social instability.

It is our primary hypothesis that democracy, as originally defined in Greece and practiced in Athens, fell very short of its promises, even if not failing completely to succeed in its policies. Perhaps for that reason, democracy never attained a long historical viability and it was really two thousand years later that it was somewhat resurrected in the modern western world.

The travails of democracy in the last couple of centuries have shown by now that this revamped ideal left a lot to be desired. From that experience, our secondary hypothesis is that democracy has reached a stage of demo-sclerosis and needs a substantial overhaul if it is to survive in the post-industrial world.

In a constantly changing world, any proposals for change are themselves subject to change. Our tertiary hypothesis therefore is that whatever options exist presently for a sustainable democracy are temporal and regional. In a world in flux, we should never think of a permanent preferable global ideal political system.

Based on these three hypotheses, we proceed in a discussion of their merits, pro and cons, without necessarily coming to a definitive conclusion. Following the classical dialectic, we could even propose a possible and desirable synthesis of opposing points of view, a Golden Mean that could at least sustain a feasible democracy here and now.

In that quest, we start by introducing and defining democracy etymologically and historically, from its classical origins to the present reality. Then, consider the various problems and issues arising in the post-modern global world era. Finally, concluding with some theoretical and practical options in sustaining, updating, and adapting democracy to the exigencies of our reality.