Trump & Musk Threaten Democracy

"Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others." - Winston Churchill

Is Democracy At Risk?

I can only judge democracy from my own experience. New Zealand, Aotearoa, is a democratic country with a 3-year election cycle. I have voted in every election since my early 20s. There are two major political parties, National and Labour, as well as other smaller parties. The smaller parties exist because of MMP, Mixed Member Proportional Representation.

A Short History of Democracy

The ancient Athenians had a restricted form of Democracy, women, slaves and foreigners could not vote. At a time when monarchies and oligarchs ruled, Athenian democracy was short lived. India had their own form of representative government in their early history. A form of democracy existed in the 482 years of the Roman Republic, before the first emperor Augustus. It wasn’t until the French and American revolutions in the 1700s when democratic ideas took root again. From the 1900s gradual expansion of limited demographic governments evolved to what we know today.

Democracy Under Threat

History has shown us democracy is continually under threat. Powerful leaders throughout human history have directed the lives of the people they have control over. The powerful and the elite with their armies dictated where their subjects explored, who they chose to war against, what customs, laws, gods, were adopted, even where and how they lived. Kings, queens, dictators, oligarchs, generals and warriors commanded the lives of millions from the time of human existence. In that context democracy is a recent institution, just a child. 

Threats to Democracy Today

As powerful as today’s democratic countries appear, there are powerful forces at play to undermine the institutions of democracy. The current President and administration of the USA is a prime and disappointing example of an internal threat to democracy. Elon Musk although not the formal head of DOGE, Department of Government Efficiency, is a senior advisor to the President and as such is recognised as a “special government employee”. This status allows Musk to direct the activities of Doge, thereby firing thousands of employees in many government departments. This in turn reduces the effectiveness of the functions of government as a democratic organisation. Recently one third of the staff employed by Doge, resigned in protest, concerned that the firings of thousands of government employees put the country at risk.

My View

The National Party government in New Zealand has dismissed thousands from departments to finance tax cuts and enhance frontline services like the Police. Many New Zealanders accept job losses as an economic move, not one designed to in any way, to undermine the democracy of the country. Should there be a change of government at the end of this current term, the transition will be peaceful and accepted as a valid and ethical vote count.

In the USA, Trump through division and lies, has so destroyed belief in the ethical functions of government, a peaceful transfer of power will always be questioned. Not as a justifiable protest, but due to so much disinformation, leading to an inherent distrust of any election result and elected officials on the winning side of the vote. 

Trump and Musk in their positions of power are following the well-trodden paths of previous dictators. Bishop Creighton said, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Their actions show these two are well on their way to being corrupted absolutely.

Democracy has many faults, nevertheless it is far better for billions, than any other form of government that has previously existed in human history. Winston Churchill was right.