I think I agree with the point but people don’t need to want all the same things so I think I’d rather phrase it this way:
“Democracy fails when the people and their leaders fail to realise that the thing they want above all is peace and general prosperity, and that neither of those is a naturally occurring phenomenon.”
Because the peaceful transfer of power as well as respect for the truth, and equality before the law is the absolute foundation that any prosperous democracy needs.
Doesn't that just kick the problem down the road to the definition of peace and general prosperity? If people have irreconcilable differences over what those mean, they still may not be able to find the common ground needed for running a business or country. With something more nimble like a business it's easy to imagine vastly different views on how the business can prosper, which makes the benevolent dictator (business owner) model all the more attractive.
Well, I don't think people around the world have vastly different definitions of peace and prosperity. For example, Ukraine is definitely not experiencing that at this stage in time. Neither is Sudan, Ecuador, etc.
“Democracy fails when the people and their leaders fail to realise that the thing they want above all is peace and general prosperity, and that neither of those is a naturally occurring phenomenon.”
Because the peaceful transfer of power as well as respect for the truth, and equality before the law is the absolute foundation that any prosperous democracy needs.