Ideals and Idols of the Western World

The Ideals/Idols of Today's West

• The presentation discusses the ideals and idols of today's Western world.
• It introduces activities related to human rights, comparing past and present.

Activities on Rights

• Activity #1-2: Reflect on a current human right that was once unthinkable in the past, and a right enjoyed previously but lost today.
• Activity #1-2: Recognize that rights and freedoms have evolved gradually over centuries, with older societies typically having fewer rights than more modern ones.
• Activity #2: Identify countries where human rights are respected and those where they likely aren't. Note that positive examples tend to be predominantly Western countries.

Democracy Index

• Activities #1-3: Aim to show the widespread belief that today's Western world is the best.
• Activities: A global democracy index, published by the Economist Intelligence Unit, provides data supporting this belief.
• EIU Index: Over the last couple of decades, the index has consistently revealed that Western countries (Europe, America, and Australia) generally outperform other nations globally. A map displaying this data is accessible online.
• Data sources for the democracy index are the Economist Intelligence Unit research and surveys from 2006-2023, offering insights into political aspects and government functioning. The index considers factors like elections, civil liberties, participation, and functioning governments, ranging from 0 to 10 (higher scores indicate more democratic systems).

The Meaning of EIU's Map: Country Groups (2023)

• The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) categorizes countries based on their democracy levels (2023 data).
• The categories and scores are: full democracies (1 or 2), flawed democracies (3 or 4), hybrid regimes (5 or 6), and authoritarian regimes (7 thru 10)

The Meaning of EIU's Map: Criteria

• Full Democracies: Respect fundamental civil liberties and political freedoms, have functioning governments with checks and balances, and an independent judiciary.
• Flawed Democracies: Fair and free elections and basic civil liberties are upheld, but have issues in aspects such as media freedoms, political participation, and governance.
• Hybrid Regimes: Frequent electoral fraud, pressure on political opposition, widespread corruption, lacking independent judiciaries, and other shortcomings.
• Authoritarian Regimes: Limited or no political pluralism, authoritarian rule, significant infringements on civil rights, controlled media, and suppression of dissent.

EIU's Vision

• The EIU's vision emphasizes respect for basic rights, democratic governance, and rule of law.
• The presentation encourages students to be reflective on the different aspects of political values and institutions, with specific focus on the reasons Europe and America differ from the rest of the world.
• The objective is, within the course, to provide historical context and explanations for the values, ideals, and origins that underpin these social and political systems.