Some thinkers, like Amartya Sen, have claimed that democracy is both a universal value and produces better outcomes than other forms of government. Others argue that technocracy or rule by experts (as described in Daniel Bells The China Model, for example) is a viable alternative to democracy. Evaluate this debate on both normative and empirical grounds. In other words: What normative arguments can be made in favor of both technocratic government and of democracy? Why might it be more difficult for one form of government or the other to address the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, famine and other on-going governance crises? Is there a normative argument for democracy even if an authoritarian technocracy produces better policy outcomes in some respects?
