The Problem With Democracy

Matthew Flinders suggests ways of thinking about politics to ensure the life of democracy

In this lecture Prof. Matthew Flinders of the University of Sheffield and author of Defending Politics, discusses ‘the problem with democracy’. Does the apparent shift from healthy scepticism to corrosive cynicism have more to do with our unrealistic expectations of politics than a failure of democratic politics? Do the problems with democracy – if they exist – tell us more about a failure on the part of the public to understand politics rather than a failure of politicians to understand us? Maybe the problem with democracy is not that it is in short supply but that we have too much of it?

Through examining these issues Professor Flinders will suggest new ways of thinking about politics to ensure not the death but the life of democracy. The evening will be chaired by the Rt. Hon Peter Riddell CBE, Director of the Institute for Government.