31–40 of 162 posts
So we know incompetence even if we don't recognize competence. This appears to be good enough for government work.
Democracy is also the only way to effectively stop armed revolutions. From Ron Paul to Che, the entire spectrum says "no" to armed resistance until all democratic means are exhausted.
You phrase that as a positive, but it could also be phrased as a negative: Democracy allows evil people to rise to power without having to fight anyone to do it. Hitler was elected democratically.
The point of electoral government is people's right to govern themselves, not the superiority of their decisions. In the U.S. we mediate "democracy" through a republican government of divided and checked powers to guard against the dangers of any unified and unchecked political power. But the point of all that is to secure that right to self-government, not thwart it.
Consequently, you lose unless you happen to be one of the few in charge.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I would go on to say that, IMO, the most important feature of a democracy is the periodic and orderly transfer of power every X years. Or, to put it another way, the ability to easily get rid of a leader.
Hmmm. The PRC seems to have this down. I'm not sure if that's a point against you or a point in the PRC's favor.
The point of electoral government is people's right to govern themselves, not the superiority of their decisions. In the U.S. we mediate "democracy" through a republican government of divided and checked powers to guard against the dangers of any unified and unchecked political power. But the point of all that is to secure that right to self-government, not thwart it.
That may have been the intent but the reality is that the poor stay poor and the rich now dominate resulting in a government that is increasingly dominant and intrusive. Consequently, you lose unless you happen to be one of the few in charge.
I'd also point out that the intrusions of our current government aren't motivated by their advantages for the rich.
No. Democracy is the best form of government discovered so far because it allows voters to remove incompetent leaders and bad policies without violence.
However competent a king or dictator is, most of his competence will be directed towards remaining in power through military force, rather than addressing his country's real problems. He cannot be removed without risking civil war, which is the worst kind.
However incompetent a prime minister or president turns out to be, and however dull voters are, incompetence is easier to recognise than competence.
Besides, one doesn't necessarily need to personally recognise it: one can be persuaded by other people. It's easier to reach agreement about things that aren't working.
The elephant in the corner of the room of course is that the ancient Athenians quite deliberately didn't have a universal franchise. Property-owning tax-paying full citizens who fulfilled their military obligations voted, because they were the ones that would pay for, implement and generally be responsible for whatever was voted for.
One thing that I am reminded of in the current zeitgeist with respect to capitalism and democracy is the 1930s and its condemnation of democracy as outdated and how fascism was the progressive way forward.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
That may have been the intent but the reality is that the poor stay poor and the rich now dominate resulting in a government that is increasingly dominant and intrusive. Consequently, you lose unless you happen to be one of the few in charge.
Consider the course of governments dedicated to "the poor" and you may see the problem. I'd also point out that the intrusions of our current government aren't motivated by their advantages for the rich.
"if we think [the people] not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion by education." --Thomas Jefferson
Democracy is really the only reason that we have universal education in the first place. If the elite are forced to allow the people to make decisions, then they're going to make sure the people are educated enough not to do anything too dumb.