Morning Must-Read: Dani Rodrik: Root Causes of Political Malaise in Advanced and Developing Countries

Dani Rodrik: Root Causes of Political Malaise in Advanced and Developing Countries: “Today’s democratic governments perform poorly…

…In the advanced countries, dissatisfaction with government stems from its inability to deliver effective economic policies for growth and inclusion. In the newer democracies of the developing world, failure to safeguard civil liberties and political freedom is an additional source of discontent. A true democracy… combines majority rule with respect for minority rights [and] requires… institutions of representation… to elicit popular preferences and turn them into policy action… [and] institutions of restraint, such as an independent judiciary and media, to uphold fundamental rights…. Economic globalization has blunted the instruments of national economic policy and weakened the traditional mechanisms of transfers and redistribution that strengthened social inclusion…. In developing countries, it is more often the institutions of restraint that are failing…. When democracy fails to deliver economically or politically, perhaps it is to be expected that some people will look for authoritarian solutions…. If democracy is to have a future, it will need to be rethought.