What is democracy?

Question

Do you really think that democracy is the best political alternative?

Answer 1

Democracy is a socialist form of government whereby 51% of the people elect a representative to rob and oppress the other 49% of the people (notice how half the country hated Clinton and now half the country hates Bush).

Winston Churchill said that Democracy was the worst form of government, except for all the others. I believe that it is the worst form of government ever tried. A Communist or Fascist dictatorship is doomed to be overthrown when their bad policies lead to disaster. When a Democracy fails, the other party takes power and continues to run things into the ground. A monarchy has a chance of there being a good king and monarchies only fight wars over land disputes, in which the civilians are never targeted because doing so reduces the value of the land. A king doesn't tax exorbitantly because he thinks long term and doesn't want to destroy his kingdom, but rather to ensure its prosperity, even when his children and grandchildren rule. Of course, having a Republic is also better than a Democracy, because a Republic prohibits certain things from being voted upon (America was supposed to be a Republic, not a Democracy under the Constitution, but the Supreme Court was allowed to trample upon that document and bring in Democracy through the backdoor; Ron Paul desires to restore this Republic). The best form of government was the form of government that Iceland had for a few hundred years. It is known as AnarchoCapitalism or Market Anarchism. It is a system in which an unrestricted free market provides all services that the government provides (of course it won't provide the unprofitable services of government, such as prohibition of drugs or alcohol, nanny state regulations, war, genocide, discrimination and numerous other public goods). There would be competing private courts and police departments. If any business operated in an underhanded manner, the rest of society would simply stop doing business with them (for example, somebody who desired to start an army to become dictator of a region would find their electricity, water, internet, bank, and everything else cut off). Anybody who desired to live under socialism could voluntarily do so (there would probably be socialist communities, such as the kibbutzim that are in Israel), but could not force others to do so against their will.

Answer 2

Democracy works best societies that value individuality like ours. Which doesn't make it the best. In cultures that value nationalism (china), communism works best. In societies that value spirituality (iran) theocracy works best (although iran is kinda bad at it). The only true democracy in the world is Switzerland, where laws are passed when a petition for a certain law gains X amount of signatures. Needless to say, in small countries like switzerland, it works wonderfully. However in a huge country of hundreds of millions of people, like the US, democracy is ineffective and undecisive. Unfortunately a democratic republic is the best system we've come up with so far. Still better than a dictatorship. Communism is more efficient in theory, disasterous in practice. And pretty much every other kind of government is a dictatorship in one form or another.

Answer 3

Democracy describes a series of related forms of government. With origins in ancient Greece, Rome and south Asia, democracy has generally grown and expanded throughout history. The principles of democracy emphasize the importance of the individual in the context of government and, today, are a major influence around the world. Though the term democracy is typically used in the context of a political state, the principles are also applicable to other groups and organizations.

Answer 4

Demos meaning "People", and Kratos meaning "Power." Hence, democracy.
No, in its present form I do not think it's the best political alternative. I think the right to vote should be merit based. Either entirely upon intelligence, or some sort of litmus test to determine a person's ability to truly grasp the initiatives being voted on, or the candidates running for office. Far too many people have no idea concerning the roles and responsibilities of the office for which they are electing a person. Furthermore, they have no clue as to how our government works.

Answer 5

It is absolutely the worst form of government! No minorities of any kind, like even overweight people, are safe from the wrath of the majority! We all are members of some minority or another and soon this experiment would deteriorate into total anarchy. The only proven workable form of government that offers the most liberty is a rule of law. This is a constitutional republic and works very well until we let corruption undermine the law as has happened here.

Answer 6

It would be a nice idea,if it happened.
Democracy for the masses in so called democratic countries means putting a cross in a box, or pulling a lever every few years.
The rest of the time it's an elected dictatorship, and it's a matter of luck whether it's benign.