STOP PRESS! NEW MICRO ESSAY PUBLISHED TODAY: CAN ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY SAVE DEMOCRACY?

Years before embarking on a career writing what might be broadly called ‘popular philosophy’ books, I had another career as a political scientist. I still enjoy flicking through the academic journals in my old field. When doing so recently I came across what ranks as one of the most startling – indeed frightening – graphs I’ve seen in years. It appears in the July 2016 issue of the respected Journal of Democracy.

The graph (see above) shows that around 75% of today’s US citizens who were born in the 1930s believe it is essential to live in a democracy, whereas for those born in the 1980s the figure plummets to around 30%. This generational decline is evident in Europe too, although it’s not quite as steep.

Pretty scary, huh? It looks like democratic values are distinctly out of fashion with millennials.

It fits a trend, of course: the growing disillusion with democracy-as-we-know-it is evident in the rise of anti-system, far-right politicians like Trump and Le Pen, as well as the declining trust in government and traditional political parties.

So what is to be done? How can democracy as a system of government be saved from this impending failure?

One solution can be found – you guessed it – in the ancient philosophy of carpe diem. Most people associate it with an individual philosophy of everyday life. But seizing the day can also happen on a collective scale to bring about social and political change.

It’s an idea I explore in my new micro essay CAN ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY SAVE DEMOCRACY?

Do check it out and let me know what you think. The essay is based on my book Carpe Diem Regained (now also available as an audio book).

And before I forget, I’ll be giving a Temple Talk in London on the evening of Sunday June 11 – it will be my last talk in the big smoke for some months, so do come along if you can.

Best wishes

Roman