LETTER TO THE SCMP (235 words):
Thorsten Pattberg's article (Democracy is the opiate of history's losers, July 6) is certainly thought provoking. In my case, the thoughts it provoked were: (i) what a pyramid of piffle; and (ii) why did the SCMP give valuable op-ed space to his farrago of nonsense?
Examples:
1. "Nothing is every achieved by democratic protest". Nothing? I can think of examples from the Magna Carta to the "Colour" revolutions, via the Vietnam war demonstrations and Civil rights movements. And that's without googling.
2. "Democracy disables a conquered nation". You mean like Germany and Japan? Which achieved phenomenal growth post WW2, courtesy of the Marshall Plan?
3. "Hence all known so-called democracies… are former colonies". You mean, like Greece, the mother of democracy? Or Britain? Or Switzerland, Spain, Germany, France, Scandinavia? Or, down my way, New Zealand? Hence Pattberg's final comment is nonsense as well — "Democracy is a political system designed for the occupied, the losers in world history".
Clearly Thorsten Pattberg, PhD, hates democracy, hates the west and especially hates the US. I'm tempted to think that he is a conspiracy theorist. Which leads me to my own conspiracy theory: that Pattberg is a stalking horse for China, given that the Post is now owned by a mainland-based company. No? In which case the Post's editors ought to be more careful not to give over so much valuable op-ed space to incoherent, incorrect, anti-west, anti-democracy drivel.
Peter F.... etc....
