POSTED: November 1, 2026
Note to reader: What follows is a full-on Django rant about politics. If you are not in the mood to read the ramblings of one strange guy sitting on a boat in Malta, chattering on about the future of democracy, you would be well advised to go get a coffee or have a nice peaceful walk instead.
In the 1960’s the Soviet Union proudly declared that communism would win in the long run not because of military might but because it was the better system. The thinking, which was also widely accepted by academics of political science was not that communism was better than democracy but that democracy when tied to capitalism, as it usually is, will eventually collapse because of greed and self interest.
What has transpired over the decades since then is that most communist regimes have failed because of either corruption or a lack of motivation of the population to be productive. There are exceptions of course, notably China, and if not constantly pushed down by the U.S., Cuba as well.
But the notion of democracy is a very loose one. About a third of the countries in the UN with the words Democratic or Republic are not really democracies at all, but dictatorships in all but name.
And where true democracy, or free elections do exist, it is constantly challenged. Sometimes it is the outdated nature of some systems or constitutions and other times corrupted by the greed of the capitalism that coexists with it.
Israel recently had an election that was not driven by that greed of capitalism but the hubris of dogma. Political factions fighting with a very segmented set of groups, none of which could possibly form a majority, forcing coalitions that ensure no one gets the outcome they truly wanted but an outcome closer to their ideal than the alternative. At least in that political circus, citizens are voting for what they believe is right, and not based on empty promises of lower taxes or against high living costs.
Historically the notion of democracy was also tied to the public interest, both current and for the future. Tomorrow the citizens of America will vote in the midterms and it appears from the polls that the only reason a corrupt government may be weakened is because of these artificial, short-term conditions of higher living costs and the promise of lower taxes. They will not be defeated to reverse a set of bad long-term policies for the welfare of the United States and the welfare of the world.
It seems that just as many examples of communist states failing, the American version of democracy as a tier below capitalism in that country is also failing. If a politician was to give that JFK inaugural address in 1961 “ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country” would be met with laughter today. Long term capital projects for future generations are scrapped for short term benefits in the current environment. The current thought by voters is to “reduce my taxes and let me decide how to allocate my money”, instead of taking care of the less fortunate or replacing tired infrastructure, or supporting social institutions.
The sweet spot it seams is democratic socialism, or social democracies, where democratic institutions set the rules for the capitalism to operate, providing an opportunity for a meritocracy, and the associated financial rewards to exist, while keeping the social goals of the country at the forefront. Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and others employ this model and the results in all measures of happiness puts them at the top of the list.
Tomorrow I will watch the Mid Term Elections in the United States like everyone else. I certainly hope that the Democrats prevail. But whether they do or not wont change my perspective on how the American voting public acts. In the American model of democracy, self-interest has won.
Django