Does democracy have any flaws?

Dear all,
As in Sweden we had elections - I think it is interesting to reflect on democracy - a fundament of free society
- as majority believes in the Western World.

1. Does democracy have any flaws?
2. Can democracy be improved or is it "well-done" as it is?
3. What improvements could be made?
4. Is there a way to detect "false" promises ahead of time?
5. Does democracy require well-informed citizens in order to function well? How can desinformation be prevented?
6. What makes a politician or leader reliable?
7. Do you believe or suspect or ever observed a "mass-manipulation" even in democratic systesms?
8. Where is the boundary between legitimate political persuasion and manipulation?
9. Can social media strengthen democracy by giving everyone a voice, while at the same time making democracy more vulnerable to misinformation and manipulation?
10. Why people sometimes choose to vote "not for" but "against - no matter for what"?
11. What happens to democracy when fear, anger or dislike of the opposing side becomes stronger than support for one's own political ideas?
12. How can this be regulated?
13. Can political polarization reach a point where people stop evaluating ideas and start defending political identities?
14. Should anything be done to reduce extreme political polarization? If so, what – and by whom?
15. How can misinformation and deliberate manipulation be limited without restricting legitimate freedom of speech?
16. Can a democratically elected government behave undemocratically?
17. Can democracy survive if citizens lose trust in politicians, media and public institutions?
18. What matters more for a healthy democracy: better political leaders or better-informed and more engaged citizens?

### Final reflection

Democracy gives people the power to choose their leaders – what responsibilities come with that power?

Please bring your questions!

Vilija and the team
.....

Practical Philosophy is a weekly meet-up that brings critical thinkers together for an opportunity to dive deep on a topic, practice communicating, and building a community. All with no ‘official’ philosophy knowledge required! 😎

Practical Philosophy is based on the idea that philosophy should be accessible to all, and not something reserved only for academics. Each week we choose a topic, and the goal is to use the conversation to develop our critical thinking and communication as we explore that topic.
The goal is to help develop our Critical Thinking, Communication, and Community 🙌

📓 HOW DOES IT WORK?
Each week, we pick one topic and discuss it. The topic for the week is shared, generally in the Whatsapp groups,

https://chat.whatsapp.com/GmIWvXtyJL4JmA1vEPlJJl?mode=ems_copy_c

along with jump-off points to get the conversation going.
When groups get bigger than 7-8 people, it’s important that we break into smaller groups. This way we are able to maintain a conversational flow as opposed to having our meetups feel like a discourse or lecture.