What's Gone Wrong with Democracy?

Cover story in last week's Economist.  They run a six page special section on it.  Lotta whining about failure of democracies to legislate things they approve of, such as balanced budgets and stable currency.  More whining about failure of democracy to "take" after the revolutions in Egypt, Libya, Ukraine, and other places.
   Seems to me, Economist is confusing two really separate subjects.  One subject is the planting of democracy in undemocratic states, the other subject is democratic decision making in traditional democracies.  The causes and cures for these two subjects are different.
   To plant democracy in an previously undemocratic state is a matter of a citizenry ready for democracy.  Needed is a citizenry willing to abide by the rule of law, which means you need fair courts, that are seen to be fair.  If the courts are seen as biased, unjust, and crooked, nobody is going to pay them much heed.  Once you have some decent courts, your citizenry has to be willing to accept the court's ruling even when that ruling goes to the other side.  And you need some decent people to staff the democratic government at all levels.  They must be able to place the national interest ahead of their personal, family, tribal, and local interests. 
   Growing these and other necessary attitudes among the citizenry takes time, generations. Where the citizenry lacks these attitudes, democracy won't work. The issue in these countries is the survival of the democratic government itself. 
   The other subject, the difficulties in well established democracies like the US, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, and others, to make good decisions in areas such as budgets, national debt, taxes, education, central banking, foreign policy.  The established democracies are teetering on a cusp between the makers and the takers.  The takers want more free stuff, the makers don't want to pay for more free stuff.  Both sides have about the same strength, neither side has the votes to push thru their pet programs.  The result is called "gridlock",  but its really democracy in action.  If you don't have the votes, you don't get your way.  Most of the people whining about gridlock, are actually whining that they cannot get their way when they don't have the votes.