Czerulf: Is democracy in a crisis? (Part 1 – General considerations)

Voting – essential part of democracy (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I came across recently few articles that identified a crisis of democracy. Some commentators argue that democracy is already a thing of the past and that the Chinese model (which combines an authoritarian political structure with a 19th-century-type capitalism) is the way forward. I will discuss here in the following weeks a number of different aspects to this question. I will take Germany as an example. We start off today with some general considerations.

T.H. White: The bravest people are..

T.H. White

“The bravest people are the ones who don’t mind looking like cowards.”

T.H. White

May 29, 1906: Born in Bombay to British parents, T.H. White’s novels, including The Sword in the Stone, popularized the Arthurian legend and were a strong influence on J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series.

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via David McWilliams: The EUR 44m May miracle

Articles by David McWilliams are always a good read for people interested in economics in general and/or in the Irish economy in particular. His latest post lets us in on the secrets of the EUR 44m May miracle (May is the period in which catholic kids in Ireland have their First Holy Communion) and what it means to the local economy (from the obligatory bouncy castle to mummy’s hairs).

Italy – Comment: Local elections – all eyes on Rome

On Sunday and Monday local elections were held in Italy. It was the first big occasion to measure the political temperature since the general elections in February. In my view the two most significant developments in Rome’s voting (and maybe a sign for things to come also on the national level) were:

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via Spiegel-Online: Burschentag: Rechtextremismus in der deutschen Burschenschaft

Deutsche Burschenschaftler in Aktion

Ich habe in den Neunziger Jahren an der Martin-Luther-Universität in Halle/Saale studiert. Ich kann mich an diese Zeit noch sehr gut erinnern. Mit der Wende kamen auch die Burschenschaften nach Ost-Deutschland  – sehr befremdlich in allen Belangen!

Hoffentlich behält der Artikel Recht und diese reaktionären Vereinigungen lösen sich in näherer Zukunft aus Mangel an Nachwuchs und Finanzkraft in Wohlgefallen der Geschichte auf. Sie hatten ihre Zeit.

Diese Bürschchen braucht kein Mensch mehr!