All around the world, man yearns to be free… from democracy. As this excellent Boston Globe article by Joshua Kurlantzick shows, there is a “the gathering global revolt against democracy”. And who is leading this international turnabout? It’s the middle class, the very social element that is meant to hasten the ultimate triumph of western-style government.

In Thailand, as we noted in the latest issue of TAC, a disaffected bourgeoisie has ousted their popularly elected leader–in a country once thought a model of democratic progress. And a similar thing is happening across the world. In Russia, China, Venezuela, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Rwanda, Nigeria, and elsewhere, people–led by their expanding middle-classes–are turning away from western-style governance in favor of strong, often autocratic leadership: the demos against democracy. Moreover, the current worldwide financial crisis is hardly likely to inspire the global masses to follow America. Perhaps, contrary to widely accepted opinion, economic globalization will prompt the demise of proportional representation.

UPDATE: Daniel has a more sober take on Kurlantzick’s article: “This is not a retreat of democracy, but its logical conclusion when there are no other significant forces to keep its inevitable abuses in check.”