[ExI] democracy sucks

[Darren Greer]

On Thu, Feb 24, 2011 at 6:57 PM, Jeff Davis <jrd1415 at gmail.com> wrote:

  "None of that democracy stuff for me,
> thanks.  It doesn't agree with me.  Multiple problems.
>

Funny enough, Aristotle agreed with you, and for similar reasons. In The
Politics he characterizes it as tyranny by the majority. He classes it right
up their with oligarchy and monarchy as potentially corrupt systems of
governance. I've always thought it strange that we claimed to be looking to
the ancient Greeks for our inspiration for it, when their greatest political
thinker and philosopher next to Plato (and better than than Plato in my
opinion, because he made no mind-body duality distinction and didn' t set us
up for the one God-heaven-soul-original sin crap that was to come later like
Plato did) dumped all over it.

>
>
> Can we identify the pros and cons re governance in general, and
> democracy in particular, and come up with something better, or some
> suggestions, or at least get pointed in the right direction?
>

I have no suggestions other than my one-note symphony that if you can
somehow remove moral judgement from your system, it would work better and
people would be happier. But I'm not a fan of pure political ideologies
anyway. Human collectives move and grow organically, and should be treated
that way. We hold onto our system come hell or high water because it worked
in the past and it's a good idea on paper. But like Thomas Hardy said,
"nothing bears out in practice what it promises incipiently." Time to take
the blinders off and admit it's not working, or at least tweak it or change
it or do something before you're left standing in the rain in nothing but
you're underwear.

And based on what is currently happening in my country, I'd have to say I'm
getting  a tad elitist too. Thank Newton for Entertainment Tonight, so
people have something to do besides investigating why a bunch of low-lifes
are dismantling the mechanisms originally put in place to protect them from
oligarchs and tyrants.

Ahem. Clearly I need some coffee.

D.





-- 
*There is no history, only biography.*
*
*
*-Ralph Waldo Emerson
*
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