Must democracy "deliver the goods" to beat autocracy?

Summary

Must democracy "deliver the goods" to beat autocracy? 03 Aug, 2025 There is an idea floating around that democracy must somehow produce "better results" than fascism or autocracy to beat it or withstand it. The notion is interestingly widespread in circles concerned with defending democracy from its enemies. The notion is somewhat loose, and that's ok, the premise behind it being that people must have the feeling of being better off in a democracy than in autocracy, or at least the feeling of being well-off enough to not cast their votes for far-right candidates or start an insurrection. What is "better"?What exactly should be "better" depends on the issues at hand. In the COVID era, this meant having more drastic lockdowns than the arguably autocratic China. Then it meant having better vaccines and less drastic lockdowns than China. It means getting more bang for your buck out of the tax system. It's the idea behind Bidens "Build Back Better" effort, that roads and bridges are better under democracy. It means that somehow, the tangible output of the system "democracy" is better than the output of the system "autocracy" (the input being our votes and / or tax money). Sadly, that approach is doomed to fail in my opinion. No one cares about betterThe idea that democracy needs to be better than fascism is an idea that is useful for fascists and other autocrats. Sure, in China, you can build a hospital in a few days (remember the news at the beginning of the pandemic?). People previously living on the land can be relocated at a low cost, and environmental and social costs can be radically kicked out of the equation when the great leader decides something. You just can't compete in the short run, but actually not for the reason that democracies can't achieve successes in the short run. It's because whatever the outcome, an autocracy will proclaim success. The outside world can't tell the difference anyway. I am willing to bet that Chinese hospital story wasn't true to be...