The Spread of Freedom and Democracy

(originally as a comment on http://whatarthurthinks.blogspot.com/)

When examining the concept of democracisation in the world today, i.e. the tendency of certain Western Nations to go about attempting to spread Democracy we shouldn't so much ask what "the price of democracy" is, as what the "value of democracy is."

In the Middle Ages Christendom lauched numerous crusades against the infidel East, to capture the holy land and to spread Christianity. It is somewhat ironic that the Middle East remains the battleground of idealogies. Now though, the Christian West has been replaced by the Democratic West.

When we talk of democracy, emancipation etc etc, we must consider where that ideology is coming from. Since the last rifles were laid down in 1945, the West decideed that Democracy was the "worst system, apart from all the others", and set about trying to spread this manner of enlightenment to the poor opressed masses the world over.

However, in doing so the West has shown the most arrogant attitute concievable. It talks about embracing foreign cultures on one hand, while on the other attempting to force democracy on people at gunpoint.

as we can see in Iraq and Afghanistan, there has been a great deal of resistance to this. Is this because people resent chosing their own rules? No, it is because people resent being told what to do in their own country.. just as I would resent someone breaking into my house and rearranging the furniture. It may be true that the chairs and sofas are in better places now, but the places they were in before were my places. Maybe the armchair was a little bit hard to get to, but I put it there. People dislike being forced to change by others.

In Iraq, Saddam Hussein was definitely not popular, but people are similarly unhappy about a Regime and a system that was effectively created by Washington. It's not that the system is bad, but it isn't their system.

The West needs to take a big step back and allow Nations to forge their own destiny if we are to avoid more Iraqs. Maybe the West can give a subtle hint that the chair might look better under the window, and even give a hand moving it, but in the end, people need ownership of their systems of Government.