Future of Democracy

[Sethomas]

If democracy falters, it won't be out of inferiority to other government types but rather to the economy. I'm not familiar with all of them, but instinctively I feel that current anti-trust laws are far from adequate to deal with the new breed of super-corporations and business alliances. Corporate globalization is no threat if governments can learn to coalesce fast enough to keep up with the present destruction of economic boundaries. I estimate this expansion to be closer to utter completion than most people would care to appreciate. I personally see much reason to be optimistic about the possibilities that may come from a market without borders, but the truth is that we aren't as afraid as we probably should be at this point.

As a democratic socialist, I find myself generally concuring with Roberto Unger in his vision outlined in his Cambridge lectures. I find that far too many people assume that one political philosophy can have absolute logical superiority. I see the tabula rasa as requiring a Libertarian state until it reaches critical mass, at which point it should steadily make a conversion to democratic socialism. I would say that the United States reached that point in the late 1950s, and it is so far behind that the intrisic nature of the Information Age is going to seriously bite nearly every aspect of American life in the ass, and the mark will likely last a long time. While I make no absolute predictions, I find it quite likely that our economy will not reach it's pre-11.09.2001 strength until after a serious tribulation period sometime in the next twenty years.

To speak of the immediate present, my outlook on the tax cuts is exceptionally grim, should they pass. I would have little hesitation to take up the "love it or leave it" offer, though I hope the country stays in one piece long enough for me to get my Ph.D.

For the long term, though, I reiterate that democracy must become more socialized and international relations must become more lucid and economically permeable. Although most people are terrified at the idea of global government, it is an absolute necessity to keep order in the world through the 22nd century. My most optimistic vision is that the world will be distilled into a dozen or so superpowers sometime within the next fifty years, though I know fully well that too many people will kick and scream against this.