Democracy on the run

Watching the events unfold in Egypt prompted some investigation of democracies worldwide and the trends in democratization. The findings are not so good.

The Economist Intelligence Unit published a report, at the end of last year, entitled "Democracy index 2010". The overarching concept is that democracy is in retreat worldwide.

"The index provides a snapshot of the state of democracy worldwide for 165 independent states and two territories-this covers almost the entire population of the world and the vast majority of the world's independent states (micro states are excluded). The Economist Intelligence Unit's Index of Democracy is based on five categories: electoral process and pluralism; civil liberties; the functioning of government; political participation; and political culture."

The US and UK are near the bottom of the "full democracy" category of the index, ranked at 17th and 19th respectively.

"In the US, there has been an erosion of civil liberties related to the fight against terrorism. Problems in the functioning of government have also become more prominent."

Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden & New Zealand top the 26 nation list as the most democratic full democracies. Costa Rica and Portugal hold the bottom positions.

The facts here do not align with the meme of American Exceptionalism, with respect to our freedoms and status when compared with other democracies. We are well behind highest rated democracies in terms of functioning of government and political participation.

Our bi-polar US government is not functioning as intended. Of the 26 full democracies, only the Czech Republic and Portugal rank lower in functioning of government. We're not #1. In this category, we're #24. That is simply not good enough and we should demand better, but don't hold your breath. Political participation is relatively feeble compared with those countries at the top of the list.

Egyptian revolution is fomented by 14% unemployment, a relatively high cost of living and high level of income inequality. The US income inequality rating is significantly higher than in Egypt, as illustrated in the following graphic from the New York Times.

We shouldn't be expecting a new American Revolution any time soon, but some of the indicators are in place. These common threads provide us with insight into the motivation of Egypt's shrinking middle class being driven driving into the streets, demanding better from their government and of their country.