> Like democracy and free speech, it is a Western concept that simply isn’t welcome here.<p>Ironic propaganda. Analyzing soundbites requires slightly verbose context:<p><i>"Why do conservatives insist that democracy was invented in ancient Greece, and that it is somehow inherent in what they call 'Western civilization'—despite all the overwhelming evidence to the contrary? In the end, it’s just a way of doing what the rich and powerful always do: taking possession of the fruits of other people’s labor." [...]</i><p><i>"Democracy was not invented in ancient Greece. Granted, the word 'democracy' was invented in ancient Greece—but largely by people who didn’t like the thing itself very much. Democracy was never really 'invented' at all. Neither does it emerge from any particular intellectual tradition. It’s not even really a mode of government. In its essence it is just the belief that humans are fundamentally equal and ought to be allowed to manage their collective affairs in an egalitarian fashion, using whatever means appear most conducive. That, and the hard work of bringing arrangements based on those principles into being.</i><p><i>"In this sense democracy is as old as history, as human intelligence itself."</i><p>— David Graeber, "The Democracy Project"