Democracy – the greatest challenge of our time

Perspectives that can inspire hope and trust

Dear Friends of ELIANT,

Insecurity and fear of the future not only colour the everyday lives of many young people, but have become a phenomenon affecting society as a whole. This development was exacerbated by the coronavirus crisis and the as-yet unaddressed issue of how it was handled. In the democratically structured countries, we are experiencing increasing disillusionment with politics and doubt as to whether ‘those at the top’ are up to meeting the complex challenges of current events.

What is democracy built on?
Democracy thrives on the individual participation of citizens in social, economic, cultural and global issues, it encourages them to inform themselves broadly and to form their own opinions from a wide range of sources of information from left to right. Practising to understand those who think differently promotes the necessary empathy and willingness to compromise, without which democracy cannot succeed. If this willingness disappears, authoritarian power structures are the result, with the typical accompanying phenomena of discrimination and suppression of uncomfortable minorities.

Analyses of democracy in danger
It is an inspiration to read books like the one by the Belgian philosopher Mathias Desmet on The Psychology of Totalitarianism, or the one by Levitzky/Ziblatt How Democracies Die. They shed light in various ways on the psychological and intellectual causes why democratic systems in European and non-European countries are fundamentally at risk and why a reorientation, a ‘rethinking of democracy’ is urgently needed. It is t h e big challenge for all of us! For the ubiquitous problems in our world in upheaval require a new way of seeing, of causal understanding, a new way of thinking and acting if we want to solve them.

An inspiring example of how to contribute to cultural change
It is clear that we can only overcome the major social, economic and ecological challenges together. That is why we would like to draw attention to a globally positioned think tank, the results of whose work since 2015 will now be presented in summary from 16 to 18 October in Stockholm at a ‘summit’ entitled ‘The Space in Between. From Inner Growth to Outer Change’, which is also accessible online. The goal is to initiate genuine cultural change by 2030.

ELIANT’s contribution to the new understanding of democracy
is based on Rudolf Steiner’s forward-looking ‘threefolding idea’, which we are pleased to refer to in this context, as it has already passed many practical tests and can inspire optimism. It shows in concrete terms how the ideals of the French Revolution – Liberty, Equality, Fraternity – can become the foundation of a democratic culture. What does the individual need? A school and education system free of repression, which provides space for personal development and enables autonomy. What is the task of the state? The equality of citizens before the law and the creation of a legal framework that equally serve individual and social life. In other words, freedom of choice in education, equality of all citizens before the law, and an economic life such as cannot degenerate into an undemocratic global power but sees itself as a service provider for the real needs of all those involved in the creation of value – people and nature.

Citizens’ initiatives and civil society engagement
For many decades, it has been initiatives from civil society – starting with alert and committed individual people and small groups – that have ultimately been able to achieve positive changes on a broad basis using democratic means, such as the legal entrenchment of organic in the 80s and 90s through the organic movement. Such important demands from civil society are rarely implemented immediately but show the strength of democratic consciousness, a consciousness which is not discouraged by failures but trusts that positive, future-oriented thinking will sooner or later become a reality of life, even if we ourselves can only do the sowing and later generations reap the harvest.

With best wishes for autumn and warm greetings on behalf of the ELIANT team
Michaela Glöckler

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