Democracy is very successful in preventing political violence. Violence is incredibly destructive to people’s real daily welfare.
Not to mention it prevents political violence at the expense of causing extreme violence in foreign nations. As long as its not us, right?
I would say with this that unfortunately democracy = capitalism in the world we live in. And its really capitalism that causes those things, rather than democracy itself. I dont want to give the impression I hate democracy as an idea, just how we've implemented it.
people who say this are actually not saying the literal meaning of that sentence. I believe they mean that they observe ever increasing levels of wealth amongst some people, but not themselves or their friends/peers. Therefore, they equate the fact that they are not at the same relative level of wealth as some wealthy people, and thus, conclude that it must be that poverty is increasing.
I find it difficult to agree with this sentiment. Social mobility might have decreased in the last four decades. But in the longer perspective there has never been a more egalitarian and meritocratic social structure than in our time. And that structure exists mainly in the democratic states of the world.
And there are democracies out there today that aren't capitalist, in the true meaning of that word:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebel_Zapatista_Autonomous_Mun...
https://pdfhost.io/v/Hrr2IgtuS_SocialContractoftheDemocratic...