For Winston Churchill, the best argument against democracy is "a five-minute conversation with the average voter". Democracy, moreover, is "the worst form of government except for all of the others that have been tried".
The primacy of democracy is seldom seriously questioned in the western world. Does that mean that we take it for granted? And is it time for the west, in this age of globalisation, financialisation and new technology, to take its pulse and check its vital signs?
Joining Anne Perkins this week in the studio is the author and journalist Philip Coggan – otherwise known as Buttonwood of the Economist. His new book is The Last Vote: The Threats to Western Democracy.
As seen recently in Italy and Greece, western democratic institutions do not always look solid in times of crisis.
Coggan says we need a wake-up call and at the 2015 general election we should treat our next chance to vote as though it were our last.
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