Is Democracy the best option?

trustt · #1 2008-12-20, 00:50

Is having Freedom the best thing in the world? aren't other countries like China, Cuba developing ?

dagnabitt · #2 2008-12-20, 01:31

Are you equating democracy with freedom?

Knight of blacknes · #3 2008-12-20, 01:54

The best thing would be a monitor in which everyones desires are put in and it compares it too all possible solutions and gives the best as output. Democracy tries to do something similar but falls short in many ways.

ReclaimPublicSpace · #4 2008-12-20, 05:36

It all depends on your beliefs about human nature. If you think people are well-equipped enough to be able to make the correct decisions for themselves then democracy is the best option. If you believe the "unwashed masses" are uninformed, uneducated and ignorant then they shouldnt be running a government.

There are pros and cons to each system. Authoritarian governments are much more efficient than democracies because there is no squabbling: if someone dissents, they are silenced. But democracy furthers the spread of different ideas and views and provides for competition.

I, as an anarchist (ideally), hope that one day people will become more motivated to study politics and current affairs and will therefore be able to make decisions regarding their well-being. Knowledge is power. Look at the 2008 elections. People voted for Obama just cuz he was black, or voted for McCain because Obama was a "terrorist" and a "Muslim".

fretbuzz · #5 2008-12-20, 05:37

America: Home of the free-est and ever increasingly free-less.

When it comes to government, there isn't a best option. Someone will always be unhappy.

Chimro · #6 2008-12-20, 07:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by dagnabitt

Are you equating democracy with freedom?

This. If the average peons were given free-reign they'd take away every last crumb of freedom, including the right to vote.

Chimro · #7 2008-12-20, 07:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by fretbuzz

America: Home of the free-est and ever increasingly free-less.

When it comes to government, there isn't a best option. Someone will always be unhappy.

America is a constitutional republic. If it was just a plain democracy, you'd see hate laws and guns banned tomorrow.

easeoflife22 · #8 2008-12-20, 07:21

It's the best option, considering that all government systems are flawed. There is no real way of developing a really well functioning government. A more educated population wouldn't really make a difference, but developing more well rounded and innovative politicians, would be a much better priority. If every party had excellent candidates, there would be no bad vote. In the end, I don't think the problem is with the political system, but rather the gauntlet of problems created by a diverse population that most western cultures these days face. It's really hard to keep everyone happy, and anticipating economic and global issues, is pretty chaotic at best. I think the Canadian governments function quite well, considering the challenges they face. I only ask for transparency, as expecting no mistakes to be made, is not a reasonable thing to hope for. In short, the world isn't perfect, and neither will our governments ever be.

dagnabitt · #9 2008-12-20, 15:48

Democracy is a patchwork heuristic at best.

I believe it has implications which would be good for a political system, as long the voting populus had a basic understanding of things, which more often is not the case. An uneducated populus means only that the most manipulative politicians will win most of the time. And this is no democracy.

Democracy is a system of personal compromise at best, and a system of abusive power at worst. It may be the best option, out of many, but to equate it with "freedom" or some political ideal, as Americans like to, is fucking retarded.

easeoflife22 · #10 2008-12-20, 21:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by dagnabitt

Democracy is a patchwork heuristic at best.

I believe it has implications which would be good for a political system, as long the voting populus had a basic understanding of things, which more often is not the case. An uneducated populus means only that the most manipulative politicians will win most of the time. And this is no democracy.

Democracy is a system of personal compromise at best, and a system of abusive power at worst. It may be the best option, out of many, but to equate it with "freedom" or some political ideal, as Americans like to, is fucking retarded.

Education is useless, when people are too dumb to understand the knowledge necessary to make educated choices. I don't imagine the common man understanding economics, sociology, or foreign affairs any time soon. Your ability to manipulate others is essentially the cornerstone of success in this world. Strong willed people always rise to the top. You are right though, real democracy doesn't exist, and let's be thankful it doesn't.