Myopic democracy and the lost future

Organised by

• Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies
• EGPP: European Governance and Politics Programme

There is a growing body of evidence suggesting that citizens lost trust in their governments and parliaments across Europe and the United States. Asked in one study how they would feel about reducing the number of national parliamentarians in their country and giving those seats to AI with access to their data, half of respondents, particularly the young, proved enthusiastic. In France, only 9% of those polled declared that their children would be better off, while a striking 71% believed that they would be worse off. It looks as though most of us have lost faith in a democratic future! Some blame accelerated, unaccountable and unbalanced turbo-capitalism for depriving us of the future. For others populism and the personal flaws of our leaders are seen as the reasons for the political disarray of today. However, this talk suggests a more fundamental explanation. The future is increasingly grim because democratic politics is not suited for handling time and space in a way that safeguards the interests of future generations and overcomes state borders. Democracy is currently tied to nation-states defending the selfish interests of a given territory and community. Democracy is also hostage to present-day voters with detrimental implications for future generations. This explains why politics stumbles in the ever more interdependent global environment, running at an ever faster pace from one crisis to another.