Scholar: The United States is not qualified to call itself a “democratic leader”

　　Author: Sheng Tao, scholar of international issues

　　Democracy is a common value for all mankind, but the United States attempts to privatize it. Recently, the United States has once again pulled relevant countries to convene a so-called "democracy summit", hyping up "democracy versus authoritarianism" and pointing fingers and making irresponsible remarks at other countries. However, everyone on earth knows that American democracy is already terminally ill, with various flaws and hypocritical double standards being staged almost every day.

　　American democracy is plagued with problems and crises. In recent years, the riots in the U.S. Congress and the "paralysis" of the House of Representatives have witnessed the accelerated decline of American democracy. Violent law enforcement against African Americans and bullying and attacks on Asian groups reflect the long-standing systemic racial discrimination in American society, and the living conditions of low-income groups have deteriorated. It exposed the cruel reality that "the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer" in the United States. The richest 10% of the U.S. population owns more than 70% of social wealth. After the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, the wealth of the richest 1% of the U.S. population increased by more than 6.5 trillion U.S. dollars, which is more than five times the total wealth growth of the bottom 90% of the population. There are more than 250,000 "pandemic orphans" in the United States due to the COVID-19 epidemic. Every year, more than 80,000 people are killed or injured by gunfire, and more than 100,000 people die from drugs and substance abuse. Many Americans are worried about the low quality of government governance, inability to maintain public order and good customs, and insufficient provision of public welfare. A Gallup poll in January this year showed that only 28% of American adults were satisfied with the current situation of American democracy, setting a new low since the "Capitol Hill Attack" incident.

　　Polarized politics and veto politics have turned the "United States" into a "secession". The two parties in the United States are ideologically polarized. They increasingly emphasize "basic" over "centrism" and "partisanship" over "public nature." Policy representation is even less scientific, public opinion base is weaker, and democratic consultation is more difficult. Differences have become more profound and struggles have become more intense on issues such as illegal immigration, health care reform, and climate change. Trump froze the health care reform plan, withdrew from the Paris Agreement, issued the "Muslim ban" and built a border wall, completely negating Obama's eight years of "political achievements". On the day he took office, Biden introduced another 17 measures in one breath, overturning Trump's policies. The policy of "turning over sesame seeds" has become an unbearable burden for many immigrants. Trump's "zero tolerance" policy forced more than 2,800 children to be separated from their parents, the youngest of whom was only 1 year old. The New York Review of Books published an article stating that the United States has become a "country of two countries." The two political parties have led two groups of citizens to sharply oppose each other and form a federal government. The United States of America has become a "divided country."

　　A "rich man's game" based on capital. American politics has been kidnapped by capital, and the "money-return" relationship runs through all aspects of elections, legislation, and governance. There is no upper limit on political donations in the United States. General election expenditures have soared from US$6.6 billion in 2016 to nearly US$14 billion in 2020. The 2022 midterm elections will cost US$16.7 billion, exceeding the GDP of more than 70 countries around the world. The U.S. Congress has been captured by "political donations", and more than 90% of senators and representatives won elections by "spending money". The U.S. House of Representatives can put the rights of 170 million TikTok users and the survival and development of 5 million small businesses into consideration. It quickly passed the bill to hunt TikTok in just two weeks, but under the lobbying of interest groups, it repeatedly argued over issues of public concern such as gun control and drug control. decades. The majority of voters have become tools of money politics. During the 2016 election, the Republican Party spent $1 million a day on Facebook ads and illegally obtained 87 million user information to manipulate public psychology. American political commentator Noam Chomsky believes that the more money in the United States, the greater the influence on policymaking. 70% of people have no influence at all, which is equivalent to being deprived of the right to participate in politics.

　　The beacon effect of American democracy is no longer there, and even its allies are shaking their heads. The "beauty filter" of American democracy has been shattered by the cruel and cold reality. The chaotic democratic practice has become a negative teaching material in the global spotlight. Even the United States' closest allies have sharply questioned and criticized American democracy. Pew polls show that most people in the United States' allies regard American democracy as a "broken past", with 69%, 65%, 60%, 59%, 56% and 53% in New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Sweden, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom respectively. % of the people think that the American political system is not running very well or very well. Former Australian Prime Minister Keating said, "The United States is still a long way from being the beacon of democracy it advocated in the last century." "This is a tired, divided country."

　　American democracy is used as a political weapon to maintain hegemony. The United States regards itself as a "model democracy", arbitrarily labels other countries as "non-democratic", and promotes American democracy as a "weapon of mass destruction." The United States promotes the "Neo-Monroe Doctrine" in Latin America, incites "color revolutions" in Eurasia, engages in the so-called "Arab Spring" in the Middle East, invades Iraq on unwarranted charges, and intervenes in conflicts in Syria and Libya, leading to stagnant development in these regions. Chaos, instability and humanitarian disaster. Since the new century, the United States has carried out military operations in 85 countries in the name of "anti-terrorism", directly resulting in the death of at least 929,000 civilians and the displacement of 38 million people. Under the guise of "protecting human rights," the United States puts domestic law above international law and imposes unilateral sanctions and extreme pressure on other countries, which has become an obstacle to these countries' economic development and improvement of people's livelihood.

　　The double standards of American democracy are jaw-dropping. The United States turns a blind eye to its own internal racial conflicts and violent crimes, but it releases human rights reports every year to provide guidance on other countries' internal affairs. The United States regards "Occupy Wall Street" and "storming Capitol Hill" as crimes, but calls the violent attack on the Hong Kong Legislative Council a "beautiful sight." The United States spreads rumors that Chinese companies steal data and threaten the security of other countries. At the same time, it brazenly believes that allies who have been eavesdropped by the United States should thank the United States. The United States has repeatedly accused Russia of violating human rights in Ukraine, but turned a blind eye to the humanitarian disaster in Gaza, and even abused its veto power five times to push the situation in Gaza into a dangerous situation. Marcos Pires, a professor at the University of São Paulo State in Brazil, pointed out that there are fundamental differences in the attitudes of Western countries in dealing with the Ukraine crisis and the Palestinian-Israeli issue. People of color from the Global South are treated as "second-class citizens" and suffer all kinds of humiliation. American political activist Judy Evans said that when most Americans called for a ceasefire in Gaza, those in power in the United States turned a deaf ear and they need to learn a lesson about democracy.

　　The international community has long seen clearly the corruption and hypocrisy of American democracy. The United States is completely unqualified to call itself a "democratic leader" and the argument of "democracy versus authoritarianism" can be put to rest. (over)