Blackburn 1 - 5 Myths

6. The myth of democracy. A disastrous start to the second half for Blackburn:

[T]he people cannot do better than take their news and opinions from the likes of Rupert Murdoch... This is when things are going well. When they are not going well people naturally suppose that disagreement deserves death.

These are grotesque generalizations that are empirically falsified by the attitudes and the conduct of large numbers of the citizens of modern democracies. Blackburn again:

For Icelanders, Scandinavians and Europeans, with our long parliamentary traditions, democracy may be the least bad system of government, but it is a long way from being any use elsewhere.

A judgement that will be news to the peoples of Japan, India and South Africa - and, in a different way, to the people also of Zimbabwe. Blackburn here helps the opposition with a spectacular own goal. (Nottingham Forest supporters wonder what's going on out there.)