[extropy-chat] Democracy is a lie

[Damien Broderick]

At 04:41 PM 4/26/2007 -0400, gts speculated psephologically:

 >Interesting that mentally ill Australians are forced to vote or pay a
fine. What would happen if the majority of Australians were mentally ill
and if all of them chose to pay the fine? T'would be a crazy place to
live, I think.
>... meant to ask, of course, what would happen if the mentally ill majority
>chose to vote and *not* pay the fine.

The first proposition would be isomorphic to the USian one in its 
consequences, I take it.  The second implies that the mentally ill 
would be fined even though they voted (unless you mean "rather than 
pay the fine"). Of course if the majority of voters were insane laws 
and rules of procedure might to be ignored at the highest levels, but 
this proposition, too, would be isomorphic to the USian one in its 
consequences.

(Should I add a smiley? Perhaps not, alas.)

Damien Broderick