Obviously, democracy is not perfect. It does not solve all problems. Why then do we consider it so important?

Because the alternatives are worse. Democracy means power shared between contrasting values, not power in the hands of a single idea. Value is lost when a single power imposes its will, and ideas about how to live become a system that never negotiates outcomes. When there is no dialogue, when compromise is refused, there is tyranny.

We are all humans, not perfect. To have a world in which each individual can work out a place, there must be limits to power: constraints. Some constraints are harmful, such as ignorance, lack of perspective, and inability to think conceptually. But other constraints: responsibility, discipline and authority, can be managed for the good. With constant vigilance!

These are lessons that have been learned and forgotten, learned and forgotten, learned and forgotten, over and over again, in the course of human history.