Democracy is great
Yes it is great, but not as great as people think. It has been said before "Democracy is the least worst form of government".
What is wrong with democracy?
The internal deficiencies of a democratic government.
Democracy is misunderstood
People generally believe that the government should reflect "the will of the people".
There are a couple of problems with this,
- The will of the people is non-existent concept. e.g
Person A wants the national flag to be blue and have no second preference,
Person B wants the national flag to be red
and have no second preference ,
Person C wants the national flag to be white
and have no second preference ,
They have a choice of voting for a red or white flag only, and take a vote and one colour is chosen. Could we say that the colour of the flag is representative of the will of the people. - Government is not elected by a majority of people, there are demographic groups that are excluded such as under 18's and prisoners. Of those that are eligible to vote only a percentage actually do.
- It would be better to characterised say that government reflects "The will of the politicians, sanctioned by the majority of voters"
- None of the candidates that stand may reflect the views of the majority.
Democracy legalises plunder
There is an demonstratedly reason that democracy fails: voters ulimately vote for "more" which moves resources from productive activities into consumption.
Democracy can lead to an unstable laws
- When an election comes up, no-one can be sure of the outcome. This makes it hard to plan, so it puts people off taking action because of the risk.
- Between people, the way to get certainty is to sign a contract. Government reserves the right to change the terms of its promises and laws at will.
- Even when a leader is elected you can't be sure they will keep their promise, yet the effects of the law will affect you.
- Democracy is the enemy of the rule of law.
Democracy leads thoughtless votes
Tyranny of the majority
"Democracy is the priciple of Majority rule, this can never the less mean that democracy degenerates into 'the tyranny of the majority'"
"Democracy is not always right; wisdom cannot be determined by the simle device of a show of hands"
"Encouraging people to accept the will of the majority, thereby promoting uniformity and dull conformism"
Quote 322
“A government in which majority rule in all cases, cannot be based on justice”
-- Henry David Thoreau
Would you rather have, representative democracy or representative self ownership.
Voting is appropriate if voters want to be part of it.
There is no such thing as government or the state; there are only individuals acting together in their own interests against the interests of other individuals who are powerless to stop them.
Democratic deficit
Why wait until there is a majority of 1, to change a law. Moreover, a man more right than his neighbours constitutes a majority of 1 already.
Contradiction of government
"People don't feel the need to put limitations on themselves, but feel popular government does."
Representatives
Representatives are not accountable to voters
- There is no contract
- Are they bound by law to fufil pledges?
- Do you have any recourse?
- Politicians don't even know who voted for them
Links
Internal
External
http://www.voterpower.org.uk/camberwell-peckham
MMP http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff-nation/can-you-fix-the-economy/8278025/Can-you-fix-the-economy-End-MMP
