“People don’t want democracy, they want a dictator that agrees with them.”
“Democracy is the worst form of government – except for all the others that have been tried.” - Winston Churchill
For decades, the US has exported democracy as a tenet of foreign policy.
I’m more on Winston Churchill’s side. Democracy is good, but not for the reasons most people think it is.
Most people think democracy is the best government because:
The right people become leaders
The government will have the people’s best interest in mind
Fairer because your voice is heard
Better decision making
But even with the briefest examination, these reasons don’t hold water. While there can be wisdom in crowds, popularity contests seldom result in the most capable person. The Principal/Agent problem creates conflicts of interest. Voting options are often false dichotomies. There is no accountability once politicians are in office.
The true value of democracy is that it allows for cycles of liberalism and conservatism to take place peacefully. Liberalism is necessary for progress and conservatism is necessary for stability. Unchecked liberalism results in chaos and unchecked conservatism results in stagnation. The democratic process allows for a society to simultaneously wield both liberalism and conservatism and reap the gains from both.
Autocratic, centralized governments don’t have dissenting points of view and won’t change without bloodshed. Democracies are more likely to have peaceful changeovers in power.
But it’s important to realize that the peaceful changeovers in power are the desired goal, not the abstract concept of democracy.