We live in a time when democracy is diminishing in many countries, even in the USA, which used to be seen as the leader of democracy. Whether that was really true may be uncertain, but in many fields it was a model, too. We should realise that democracy is not just a wholesale thing; it has many areas and subsectors. But there is also a general broad democratic foundation of values and ways of thinking and organising daily life at all levels, from the household and community levels to the superstructures at the national and international levels.

Earlier this week, a large annual international conference by the World Expression Forum (WEXFO) was held at Lillehammer, Norway, gathering top people, including an opening speech by the Norwegian PM Jonas Gahr Støre, and another speech by Minister of Culture and Equality Lubna Jaffery. A couple of Nobel Peace Prize Laureates attended, and, importantly, ordinary people. All were concerned about democracy and people’s participation in societies. After all, unless ordinary people participate, we cannot call it democracy; then it would be meritocracy or technocracy, with autocratic aspects, even if one might talk about good values and economic results benefiting broadly. Alas, in many old and advanced democracies in the West, there are challenges, particularly in these fields, since it is often a clique of experts, civil servants, and highly educated people who lead the political parties and government. There are few carpenters, farmers and plumbers at the top, and hardly any housewives and assistant nurses.

The theme of this year’s WEXFO conference at Lillehammer was ‘Freedom to Disagree’, and to debate in open and productive ways. The theme underlined that consensus is often not needed or desired. It is essential that those in power allow diverging opinions even when they challenge the old ways of doing things, and the........

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