Re: Two book reviews of "Democracy Rules"

2.
"Red on Black
3.0 out of 5 stars "Democracy Rules" - Tired and muddled thinking to
solve the democratic crisis of the age.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 4, 2021
Amazon Vine Customer Review of Free Product( What's this? )
Some of the big political books of recent years have set the existential
condition of democracy at their heart. Think "How Democracy Ends" by
David Runciman, plus "How Democracies Dies" by Steven Levitsky and
Danial Ziblatt. More recently the historian Anne Applebaum wrote a
highly personal reflection in "The Twilight of Democracy" on why
democracies in the West and the East have gone wrong and the fleeting
commitment of previous "liberal" friends who have succumbed to lies,
populism and authoritarianism.
All these elements form part of Jan-Werner Muller's new book "Democracy
Rules" written in the aftermath of the storming of Congress and within
the context of a pandemic. He starts with a reassertion of democratic
values drawn from thinkers like Mill and Rawls namely liberty and
equality, but also he also recognises that uncertainty is also a central
feature. At the core of this book is a call for the need to
re-invigorate the intermediary institutions that have been deemed
essential for democracy’s success ever since the nineteenth century:
namely political parties and free media.
It is obvious that a system of democracy cannot be seen as a “single
product” for history shows that “democracy dwells in possibility”.
Likewise, while people are evidently dissatisfied with their democracies
“they are not turning away from democracy as a set of ideas”. He
recognizes that the critical infrastructure of democracy is in a state
of bad repair in many countries but maintains that there are signs of
hope.
Speaking personally, you struggle to find them in this book. Overall, it
says little that is new or radical. Indeed, writing this review has been
difficult because it hard to precisely pin down Muller’s core thesis.
After 180 pages of rather muddled thinking, Muller himself concludes
“that there is no particular reason to feel optimistic about democracy
at this point”. Biden’s victory over Trump offers some hope that the
authoritarian populist route might be running out of steam. Although the
fact that over 70 million could believe that an election was “stolen”
from them on the demonstrably false claims of 45th President and the
rotten core of the GOP really speaks volumes. Indeed the Republicans
show a political party that no longer plays an intermediary role but one
that is completely polarizing.
Then you look at Europe with Putin in Russia Orban in Hungary, Law and
Justice Party in Poland, and the possibility of a Marie Le Pen victory
in the French Presidential elections. And let's not get started on China
where it is clear that a capitalist system is perfectly adaptable to the
most authoritarian politics.
Finally in the UK note the electoral turnouts when it comes to local and
devolved government. Even worse are police and crime commissioners where
it is derisory. The idea that the answer to this is to reinvigorate
political parties, the free media and re-empower citizens really offers
a paucity of answers to the problems. Sadly, I’m afraid that Muller's
book is not destined to be added to the list of great political classics
on this subject."