This is apropos a Business Recorder op-ed “Supremacy of state institutions” carried by the newspaper on Saturday. According to writer, Farhat Ali, “While many around the globe are expressing their disappointment on the state of democracy in the USA, few are talking about the deep and strong foundations of its institutions. One must not lose sight of the fact that democracy is meaningless in the absence of stable institutions. That the US has stable democratic institutions is a fact.”

But the writer, in my view, appears to be excessively impressed by American system of governance. Unfortunately, however, little does he appreciate the fact that the real democracy in the US is not more than a myth. Well-entrenched racism, corruption and incompetence and enlist baggage left to the Americans by their founding fathers constitute the real picture of the US which, arguably, is the brisk of collapse or disintegration. The 2020 presidential has adequately exposed US system’s grim weaknesses and flaws.

SYED ABBAS ZAFAR (KARACHI)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021