Democracy

[ArminasAnarchy]

Just want to hear people's opinions really.
Good, bad?
To be honest, I think that it's a joke :/.

[working class anger]

Have to agree its held up as if its the answer to the universe & everything.In reality the vast majority have very little input but it creates the illusion that we all can have our say.If it delivered any chance of change it would become the new communism ie. a dirty word in the lands of the free.During the U.S. election it was unbelievable the amount of interviewed people who were scared Obama was a socialist.Talk about being indoctrinated.
p.s. Obama is as much a socialist as Gordon Brown and why is it so wrong for those that create all the wealth not to benefit from it.

[Spartacus]

Well there are many different variations within the spectrum of democracy........representative democracy , direct democracy, social democracy, etc.

While no system is going to fulfill the very diverse wishes of the populations of nations I think democratic processes are far preferable to totalitarian ones.

Many advocates of direct democracy for instance think that the act of declaring war on another nation should be carried out only after a national referendum. They also advocate free and fair coverage in the media so people will have a more informed opinion based on knowledge of the arguments for and against it.

I think many peoples disillusionment with democracy in the west lies with the fact that the democratic process here is largely symbolic and power still resides in a small elite.
Also if elites , who by definition have cause to fear any meaningful democracy manifesting itself , can encourage that disillusionment further , thus discrediting democracy as a whole , they are the winners.

Grass roots democracy seems to be as popular as ever so maybe the problem is not really with democracy but the handing over of power to elites, all of a very particular/similar stripe, as we do in the west.

[Tantal]

I prefer a Constitutional Representative Republic. Simple "democracy" lends itself to all sorts of thuggery by the 51% if there are no protections in place.

[working class anger]

If you continually water something down eventually nothing of the original substance is left,at what point is it called another name.I cant see much democracy in what weve got and I dont believe that Russia was communist either,just because they chose to call it something does not make it so.
During the miners strike all sorts of disinformation was used by the media to destroy them, if the public received a balanced point of view they would have won.You have no chance of obtaining a fair hearing through the press which is controlled by the people who will do anything to preserve the status quo.

[Spartacus]

If you continually water something down eventually nothing of the original substance is left,at what point is it called another name.I cant see much democracy in what weve got and I dont believe that Russia was communist either,just because they chose to call it something does not make it so.
During the miners strike all sorts of disinformation was used by the media to destroy them, if the public received a balanced point of view they would have won.You have no chance of obtaining a fair hearing through the press which is controlled by the people who will do anything to preserve the status quo.

Amen..................... I needed to read something like the above....... a tad disillusioned I was.

Soul food

[Marxist Nutter]

As opposed to simple (Tantal) democracy (rule of 51%) or representative or direct democracy. I think both deliberative and radical democracy are real alternatives. I tend towards radical plural democracy myself, but would really like to debate the merits of these ideas if anyone is up for it???????????

[Midas]

As opposed to simple (Tantal) democracy (rule of 51%) or representative or direct democracy. I think both deliberative and radical democracy are real alternatives. I tend towards radical plural democracy myself, but would really like to debate the merits of these ideas if anyone is up for it???????????

Admittedly I haven't done a complete search in the forum archives (I'm constantly being told that "The following words are either very common, too long, or too short..." whatever I search for), but from what I can see there doesn't seem to have been much discussion on proportional representation, which I think is an essential part of democracy, and I was wondering what views there were of it in its various forms - party list, single transferable vote, additional member system etc - or indeed a variation of them.

I assume (probably wrongly) that most people in a political forum are aware of the major pros and cons of both voting systems - the current first past the post system and proportional representation - so I was somewhat hoping for more of a 'how could it benefit British politics' discussion rather than simply having endless circular arguments over whether any particular form was 'right' or 'wrong'.

FWIW I'm a great believer in Google Page Ranking because of the increased power it affords to the current minority parties and, in it's transferable vote form, it can offer voters who are bipartisan in their views a way of expressing that (to a degree), however don't believe it can be implemented without a) some major changes to the underlying political structure otherwise it would simply complicate a system already close to breakdown, and b) a great deal more public education and discussion about political affairs.

Perhaps this should have its own thread, but anyone?