Complaining Your Way Through Life

"He believes complaining is an existential act essential to democracy."

I found this article about complaining -- and the assertion that complaining is essential to democracy -- fascinating. After all, if we want to make the world better, don't we need to recognize its faults? And doesn't that, by necessity, mean some sort of complaining? Or maybe that fine line is the difference between a depressed existence and a productive existence.