A Protopian Dream

I am a father and I wish for my son to have a bright future. Today, I want to share some of my personal thoughts on why it is at stake.

Two weeks from now, we will witness something extraordinary: Nearly half a billion people, the citizens of a one-of-its-kind cross-national Union comprising 27 nations and making up more than 5% of the world’s population (which is 30% more than the population of the USA and about of a third of the population of China), will be given the chance to vote on their shared fate. This vote will determine the power relations within the Union’s joint legislative body and will have profound impact on its citizens and the entire planet. It will shape the future of climate and biodiversity, economy and trade, privacy and AI, health and nutrition, peace and justice, geopolitics and security, labor and migration, and many other aspects of our lives. It will also have lasting consequences for the democratic system that constitutes the Union itself.

The special Union I’m talking about, of course, is the European Union. It is a democratic experiment of a scale that is unparalleled in human history, born out of the aftermath of Word War II, a living protopia, a promise of lasting freedom, prosperity, peace, and unity in diversity. It is an agile, evolving, and constantly self-improving system that could end up as a blueprint for a future self-organization of all of humanity into a deeply democratic and holistic form of governance.

For lack of a better word, let's call it a global democracy. Such a system – endowed with genuine legislative, executive, and judiciary powers – could change our world profoundly: It could strengthen human rights globally, enable humanity to overcome local conflicts and join forces to tackle the world’s biggest challenges and contain existential risks, reign in exploitation and monopolistic tendencies of capitalism by effective regulation, and hold those accountable who commit crimes against humanity. Imagine the UN had better instruments at its disposal – there might be no more wars in Ukraine, Gaza, Syria, Yemen, Myanmar, ... The autocrats, tyrants, and terrorist regimes of this world would have ceded their power and likely be spending their lifetimes behind bars. A global democracy would try to find consensus and balance interests rather than serving the interests of a select few. Most importantly, such a system – very much like the EU – would be based on collective intelligence, adaptive to long-term change, and able to transform itself organically while protecting its core.

So at a smaller scale, why don't we see people get excited about the EU parliamentary election, talk about it in public, fly European flags, and dream of a better future together? I live in the heart of Berlin and haven’t seen much public excitement. Maybe the citizens of the EU don’t identify with it enough or don’t believe their vote matters? Maybe the system seems too distant, too hard to grasp? Maybe people are disappointed with or don’t know enough about EU policy? Maybe they are tired of politics altogether, secretly dreaming of a "strong leader", a savior? Maybe any larger hierarchical organization or concentration of power raises suspicions and fear of corruption? And what about those who risk their lives to get into the club – do we see them celebrate their freedom and newly won privileges once they have made it in?

As always, it’s complicated, and what seems glorious as a grand idea might not be so shiny in the details. And the EU is far from perfect. The real complication, though, is this: The EU is a litmus test for supranational democracy and as such is constantly under attack. Its failure would not only bolster the power of autocrats, oligarchs, nationalists, and revisionists immediately, it would also be used by them to argue that democracy cannot be viable in the long term, let alone at larger scales. It would ensure that autocratic and corrupt regimes can continue to do whatever serves them.

This is why powerful anti-democratic actors from within and outside of the EU share a keen interest in seeing the EU fail (and, by extension, its democratic allies). And since democracy only lives as long as its citizens don’t fundamentally question its effectiveness and legitimacy, tremendous efforts are being made to undermine public trust in democratic institutions; to sow discord among the people, to boost skepticism, stir uncertainty, and aggravate polarization. These efforts are sometimes crude, often sophisticated, and extremely well funded, although the methods and money flows are wickedly hard to track. Social media is of course the primary vehicle and the results speak for themselves: Despite recent losses, the far-right party AfD polls second at 15-20% in Germany, while openly attacking the democratic constitution. The party was thankfully expelled from the hard-right EU-level coalition "Identity and Democracy" recently, after numerous scandals. Nevertheless, the hard-right coalitions in the EU parliament seem poised to further shift the power balance away from democracy to dismantle the system from within (sadly, we see very similar developments in the USA, which is no coincidence).

In addition to anti-democratic brainwashing and manipulation, the image of the EU is also tainted by politicians with less malevolent intents: National governments and local politicians have long isolated their citizens from EU-level processes so they can take credit for achievements of the Union and, conversely, blame it for any inconvenience. (Thanks for this insight to the excellent podcast “EU, was geht?” hosted by my friend and EU expert Mateja Kahmann). This informational bottleneck has allowed misinformation and populism to spread, and tragically led to Brexit (with “substantially negative” consequences for the British economy, according to the Financial Times).

But wait, shouldn't we be skeptical? After all, in repressive, authoritarian, and manipulative systems, skepticism is warranted. But as we live in postmodern times, it has become overly fashionable to be skeptical of "the mainstream" (think of the pandemic). Skepticism is like a brand giving you an air of independence, exclusivity, and intellectualism. It fits the zeitgeist, being inherently individualistic and selfish. Germans are especially susceptible because they also have a penchant for public pessimism (or being skeptical of too much optimism), maybe as a collective post-war syndrome.

It is time we become skeptical of skepticism itself. It is time we – the silent, sane majority – stand up to disinformation, lies, conspiracy theories, and democratic erosion. It is time we expose the brainwashing and psychological manipulation behind supposedly skeptical positions. It is time we resist populism. It is time we replace the identity void with genuine pride in democratic values. It is time we embrace complexity. It is time we bolster empathy. It is time we recognize the imperfect but evolving, self-improving nature of things, rather than questioning and deconstructing everything humanity has collectively achieved. It is time we consciously choose to trust in the power of self-organization.

I am a proud European. I love Europe and I dream of a free, prosperous, just, sustainable, diverse, and peaceful EU. An EU that is a force of good in the world and remains true to its values, radiates them, and defends them. An EU that lives up to its responsibility as a potential role model and trailblazer for a future form of global self-governance. So if you’re an EU citizen reading this, I urge you to vote, and vote for democracy. Don’t mess up my son’s future.

References (selection):

• https://www.politico.eu/article/mapped-europe-far-right-government-power-politics-eu-italy-finalnd-hungary-parties-elections-polling/
• https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-022-01399-3
• https://www.ft.com/content/2ffe8b64-f9bc-46d4-bf40-eefbbc6fac77
• https://www.ft.com/content/e39d0315-fd5b-47c8-8560-04bb786f2c13
• https://linktr.ee/euwasgeht
• https://www.democracywithoutborders.org/7085/on-the-need-of-a-democratic-global-government/
• https://metamoderna.org/whats-the-difference-between-utopia-eutopia-and-protopia/