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AspectsofDemocracy
13
healthandtheenvironment.AccordingtotheCommissiononHumanSecuri-
ty,humansecurityumeansprotectingfundamentalfreedoms-freedomsthatare
theessenceoflife.Itmeansprotectingpeoplefromcritical(severe)andpervasive
(widespread)threatsandsituations.Itmeansusingprocessesthatbuildonpeople’s
strengthsandaspirations.Itmeanscreatingpolitical,social,environmental,eco-
nomic,militaryandculturalsystemsthattogethergivepeoplethebuildingblocks
ofsurvival,livelihoodanddignity.”2
Furthermore,inequalityendangersnotonlysocialpeace,but,asarecentstudy
bytheInternationalMonetaryFund(IMF)asserts,itisalsoharmfultoeconomic
growth.Inthestudy:uCausesandEffectsofInequality.AglobalPerspective”
,the
authorswrite:uWideningincomeinequalityisthedefiningchallengeofourtime.
Inadvancedeconomies,thegapbetweentherichandpoorisatitshighestlevelin
decades”(Dabla-Norrisetal.2015:4);uincomeinequalitymattersforgrowthand
itssustainability.”(ł)Specifically,iftheincome-shareofthetop20%(therich)
increases,thenGDPgrowthactuallydeclinesoverthemediumterm,suggesting
thatthebenefitsdonottrickledown.Incontrast,anincreaseintheincomeshare
ofthebottom20%(thepoor)isassociatedwithhigherGDPgrowth.Thepoorand
themiddleclassmatterthemostforgrowthviaanumberofinterrelatedeconom-
ic,social,andpoliticalchannels(Dabla-Norrisetal.2015:4).
Somehow,AbrahamLincolnexpressedthecomprehensivemeaningofbothin-
putandoutputlegitimacyindemocracywiththesimplewords:uGovernmentof
thepeople,bythepeople,forthepeople.”3Thisincludesaformofgovernment,
whereaconstitutionguaranteesbasiccivilrights,fairandfreeelections,andinde-
pendentcourtsoflaw.
AfterconsiderablecriticismwithinEuropeoftheEUasanexclusivemercan-
tilistfortress,theTreatyofAmsterdam(1997)addedspecialgoalsconcerningsol-
idarityandcohesion.Article158oftheTreatystatesthatinordertostrengthen
itseconomicandsocialcohesion,theCommunityshallaimtoreducedisparities
betweenthelevelsofdevelopmentofthevariousregionsandthebackwardnessof
theleastfavouredregionsorislands,includingruralareas.TheEuropeanCom-
missionunderlinedinitsuReporttotheEuropeanCouncil”
,21March2003:uEx-
clusionimposesunjustifiableandavoidablecostsonsociety.TheLisbonstrategy’s
response-aEuropeansocialagenda-istoprovidebasicskillsforall,promote
employmentforthosewhoareabletoworkandensureadequatesocialprotection
forthosewhocannot.Thisapproachrecognisestheroleofwell-developedsocial
protectionsystemsinreducingpovertyandpromotingemploymentandemploy-
ability,aswellastheneedforsuchsystemstobemodernisedtoensuretheirlong-
termsustainabilityinthefaceofanageingpopulation.”4Ontheotherside,the
2
HumanSecurityCommission0“FinalReport”www0humansecurity-chs0org/finalreport/
(accessed:1901202019)0
3
https://www0brainyquote0com/quotes/abraham_lincoln_101395(accessed:1901202019)0
4
https://www0consilium0europa0eu/media/20858/751360pdf(accessed:1901202019)0