"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the majority discovers it can vote itself largess out of the public treasury. After that, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits with the result the democracy collapses because of the loose fiscal policy ensuing, always to be followed by a dictatorship, then a monarchy."

- Source unclear, attributed to Alexis de Tocqueville and Elmer T. Peterson

Democracies have been remarkably stable so far compared to other forms of government we've tried.

The interesting thing is that it seems to have happened in reverse. In China, Russia and Vietnam, for instance it appears that communism smashed the old systems of power which opened the door for capitalism.

I mean, it's only "necessary" because it would be a catalyst for the proletariat revolution. The Russians and the Maoists generalized on the idea and showed that it's more an issue of getting the disenfranchised organized - whether they be factory wage slaves or farmers that don't own the land they work