REBECCA HENDERSON
Democracy is in trouble. Recent survey data paints a sobering picture: Fifty-five percent of Americans say that their democracy is “weak,” and 68% fear it is getting weaker. Roughly half agree that America is in “real danger of becoming a nondemocratic, authoritarian country.” Further, many believe the system is rigged: Some 70% of Americans say that “Our political system seems to only be working for the insiders with money and power.” This is not just a U.S. phenomenon: Dissatisfaction with democracy has increased worldwide, with only 45% of people reporting that they are “satisfied with the way democracy is working in their country.”
These concerns are particularly pronounced among the young. Nearly two-thirds of Americans age 18 to 29 have “more fear than hope about the future of democracy in America.” In the U.S. and the UK, only around 30% of the youngest voters feel that it is “essential” to live in a democracy, compared with upwards of three-quarters of voters born before WWII.
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