BROADCASTS.com

It will soon be time to vote in the General Election. A moment for us all to play our part in democracy. The theory is that politicians do their best to get elected, and then do all the right things so they are re-elected next time round. But in practice it can be difficult for governments to do what really needs to be done and still stay in power. A good example is climate change: There is a broad consensus that very urgent action is needed, and yet as the election nears, there's little from the major parties promising radical, decisive action, because they fear that voters don't really want it.

If liberal democracy can\u2019t solve our problems, can it at least unite us around the principle that everyone\u2019s point of view is worth hearing? \xa0Well no, not any more.\xa0 For every listener to good old Radio 4 there are many more who get their news from social media and their opinions from their silo of friends.\xa0 Is it too cynical to suggest that voters are short-sighted, selfish and stubbornly wrong-headed? \xa0And what about the quality of our leaders? Does anyone think our political system is serving up the nation's finest?

Some say our democracy isn\u2019t democratic enough. \xa0They fear excessive influence by lawyers, quangos, peers, and press barons. \xa0Others applaud activists for challenging the worst excesses of a corrupt Commons. Three cheers, they say, for the unelected European Court of Human Rights and the judges who go easy on civil disobedience while thwarting the Home Office over asylum policy.

Do we still believe that our democracy is morally the least-worst system, when it seems incapable of producing long-term solutions to the most urgent problems?\xa0 Can we learn anything at all from authoritarian states that seem better at simply getting things done? In this special edition of the Moral Maze, recorded at the Hay Festival, we ask - what is the moral basis for claiming that our version of democracy is superior? \xa0

Presenter: Michael Buerk\nProducers: Jonathan Hallewell, Peter Everett and Ruth Purser\nEditor: Tim Pemberton