V-Dem seem to be redefining the word democracy somewhere here to mean something other than the demos being in charge of things. I agree that all this stuff is bad news but they're using the wrong word. The term is "illiberal" and the problem is a lack of personal freedom. Democracy is a technical concept about how decisions get made and is capable of doing some really evil and illiberal stuff in a perfectly democratic fashion.
> A government panel has also started work on restricting entry into Japan by foreigners, a policy that could further spread xenophobia around Japan.
This was the part that really set me off. I mean, democracy is fundamentally a little xenophobic. Democracies tend to be militarily aggressive and the people on the receiving end don't get a vote. One of the best arguments for being a capitalist democracy, in my opinion, is that the only way to hold off a foreign capitalist democratic military is to deploy one yourself. Otherwise it is hot knife through butter time. They are unkind to foreigners.
> Populism that gains support through xenophobia and chest-pumping arguments is also spreading into Japan. This reflects the distortions in politics and society that fuel dissatisfaction among the public with their daily lives.
And I get that this is not a good thing, but how are they to argue that it makes a country less democratic? There seems to be some bizarre academic re-appropriation of words here where it only counts as democratic if the majority can't act, can't be persuaded of new ideas that haven't been approved by Sweden and some blessed minority is secured. All that probably would be nice, but words mean something!
It is hard to get much more democratic than populism. Mobs are very democratic organisations too, that is one of the arguments against going overboard with democracy. Too much of the stuff. It is good to have a few slow multi-year rituals to give people time to think over whether they want to do something really stupid.
>V-Dem seem to be redefining the word democracy somewhere here to mean something other than the demos being in charge of things. I agree that all this stuff is bad news but they're using the wrong word. The term is "illiberal" and the problem is a lack of personal freedom. Democracy is a technical concept about how decisions get made and is capable of doing some really evil and illiberal stuff in a perfectly democratic fashion.
>democracy isn’t just about having an election. It’s about having more than one election.
>Imagine a system where the winner of a fair election gets unlimited authority during his term. What forces this person to ever hold another fair election? [...]
> but how are they to argue that it makes a country less democratic? [..] words mean something!
You misunderstand the purpose of editorials such as these. It is not to communicate, but to push an agenda [1], here by putting PR pressure on the Japanese government. Words are just a tool in pursuit of that goal. So 'democracy' is used because of its positive affect in the minds of the public, and because it can be successfully misused without most people noticing - the line between "a set of policies I like" (how they are using the word) and "rule of the people" (what the word actually means) has been blurred through years of media effort for this very reason.
[1] I use the term neutrally, as in agendas can be either good or bad. E.g. fighting for the right for repair, and tobacco companies deceiving the public about the harm of their product, are both agendas.
> A government panel has also started work on restricting entry into Japan by foreigners, a policy that could further spread xenophobia around Japan.
This was the part that really set me off. I mean, democracy is fundamentally a little xenophobic. Democracies tend to be militarily aggressive and the people on the receiving end don't get a vote. One of the best arguments for being a capitalist democracy, in my opinion, is that the only way to hold off a foreign capitalist democratic military is to deploy one yourself. Otherwise it is hot knife through butter time. They are unkind to foreigners.
> Populism that gains support through xenophobia and chest-pumping arguments is also spreading into Japan. This reflects the distortions in politics and society that fuel dissatisfaction among the public with their daily lives.
And I get that this is not a good thing, but how are they to argue that it makes a country less democratic? There seems to be some bizarre academic re-appropriation of words here where it only counts as democratic if the majority can't act, can't be persuaded of new ideas that haven't been approved by Sweden and some blessed minority is secured. All that probably would be nice, but words mean something!
It is hard to get much more democratic than populism. Mobs are very democratic organisations too, that is one of the arguments against going overboard with democracy. Too much of the stuff. It is good to have a few slow multi-year rituals to give people time to think over whether they want to do something really stupid.