Democracy and governance – Here and there

Cancel culture and the Harper’s Letter: a moan from the Ivory Tower or call to the liberal battlements?

10 August 2020 Mike Scrafton By Mike Scrafton, Democracy and governance

The Letter on Justice and Open Debate published on 7 July 2020 and signed by 150 noted authors, academics, and public intellectuals cuts straight to a key fault line in liberalism. A collection of privileged individuals are claiming an unfettered right to say or write whatever they wish on the grounds that this right is the “lifeblood of a liberal society”. If this highly contestable claim is correct, it can then be asked if a liberal society is justifiable.

Confronting global warming and other looming crises: can democracies marshall the necessary expertise?

21 July 2020 Mike Scrafton By Mike Scrafton, Democracy and governance, Global

Confronting the dramatic trends taking place in the rates of global warming, destruction of the environment, extinction of biodiversity, and global social injustice urgently requires unprecedented societal and economic transformations. Can major democratic economies overcome the combination of disillusionment with government and distrust of experts, and position themselves to bring about the transformations these crises demand?