Democracy is a fine thing – for reasons covered elsewhere in far greater depth than I could achieve. But populism in democracies that are relatively young poses a threat that a populist leader could move away from democracy with the support of the people.

It is a scenario covered in fiction many times where a functioning democracy descends into totalitarianism. The dilemma being that if the populous vote for a dictatorship then why should the leadership go against the will of the people.

The fallacy here is that you are taking a snapshot of the will of the people at one point in time. By diverging from a democracy you are removing the freedom for the people to be represented at all points in the future. This includes people that were not yet born at the time when the decision was made.

As such democracies should aim to maintain the future freedom of their population to be represented. They should become perpetual democracies.

Along with the the right for each individual to be represented by their government, a perpetual democracy should have a tenet that denies a right. The government and the population should be denied the right to move away from a democratic system of government.

The seemingly regressive act of denying a right protects against decisions made in response to a short term swell of populist opinion. It protects future freedoms.

Playlist

The sound of silence / Simon & Garfunkel