Apathetic Democracy

Democracy is often regarded as one of the highest goods of our modern society, typically contrasted with dictatorship. Yet, in most western democracies, voter turnout has been falling in recent decades. For example, Italy had a voter abstention rate of less than 10% until the ‘80s; now, it approaches 40%. 

This leads to the rhetorical question: is it still a democracy if the people making decisions are elected by only a fraction of the total population? The underlying phenomenon is political apathy. While the causes are widely debated, what I find interesting is that this shift has been accompanied by a corresponding shift in the political class towards a less “elevated” status. 

This is evident in the speeches of past political leaders, which were often elaborate and filled with intellectual metaphors, as if to say: "Vote for me because I’m better than you, and so you can trust my judgment." Today, the message is closer to: "Vote for me because I'm just like you." 

You can observe this not only by comparing speeches but also by seeing how tweets have evolved, with Trump serving as a key example of communicating at a level you would with a child.

I’m not making a value judgment here; I'm simply highlighting that it would be hard to imagine John Fitzgerald Kennedy communicating in this style. 

Further evidence of this change in political leader qualities is the increasing prevalence of leaders without a university degree. For example, in Italy, it is the first time that both the current Prime Minister and one of his deputy prime ministers do not hold one. 

This is consistent with the paradigm shift toward voting for someone because they are similar to you, rather than because they hold qualities you admire. 

I find these observations particularly fascinating. I’ll conclude the post here and will reserve my practical reflections on this topic for the next one.