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But democracy is inept. It's an illusion. We as citizens (at least in the UK) don't have any day in the running of our country or the decisions that are made by

But democracy is inept. It's an illusion. We as citizens (at least in the UK) don't have any day in the running of our country or the decisions that are made by our government. Every four years, we're given a choice to elect the party that we think will do the least damage, while hoping and praying that they'll keep their promises (although it should be noted that they're under no obligation to do so). Even the petition system has no effect on anything. 10,000 signatures warrants a single reply, while 100,000 means it's considered for debate. We're all just sheep at the end of the day, and it's foolish to think we actually have any control.

darawk 11y ago
Imperfection is not the same thing as complete impotence. Western democracies could be substantially better than they are, but they are still leagues beyond any other functioning system of government on the planet that i'm aware of. Again, that's not to say that it can't be much much better than it is, but you do have some power, and the people who wield the true power are beholden to you to some extent, which as a general rule, is not the case in most of the world.
- retrogradeorbit 11y ago
  Sure. But the point is, this system of government, whatever it is, is not "democracy". Democracy is "rule by the demos". Demos being ancient greek for "the common people". There are no "common people" making any decisions anywhere here.
- rorykoehler 11y ago
  >Western democracies could be substantially better than they are, but they are still leagues beyond any other functioning system of government on the planet that i'm aware of. This is a common misconception, but one that does not hold water. I am thoroughly unimpressed by European politics as compared to Singapore even though there are a few things in Singapore that are not as good as in Europe. Singapore has a democracy of sorts but is essentially a one party Corporatist system (most recently copied by China). On paper this is a nightmare for me but in reality it works quite well. In the end the systems importance is not as strong as that of the people who run it. I would much rather a smart benevolent dictator who makes good decisions than the joke of corrupt politics we have in Europe currently. We're so good at self-congratulating ourselves that we haven't realised we've lost our way.

darawk 11y ago

Imperfection is not the same thing as complete impotence. Western democracies could be substantially better than they are, but they are still leagues beyond any other functioning system of government on the planet that i'm aware of. Again, that's not to say that it can't be much much better than it is, but you do have some power, and the people who wield the true power are beholden to you to some extent, which as a general rule, is not the case in most of the world.

retrogradeorbit 11y ago
Sure. But the point is, this system of government, whatever it is, is not "democracy". Democracy is "rule by the demos". Demos being ancient greek for "the common people". There are no "common people" making any decisions anywhere here.
rorykoehler 11y ago
>Western democracies could be substantially better than they are, but they are still leagues beyond any other functioning system of government on the planet that i'm aware of. This is a common misconception, but one that does not hold water. I am thoroughly unimpressed by European politics as compared to Singapore even though there are a few things in Singapore that are not as good as in Europe. Singapore has a democracy of sorts but is essentially a one party Corporatist system (most recently copied by China). On paper this is a nightmare for me but in reality it works quite well. In the end the systems importance is not as strong as that of the people who run it. I would much rather a smart benevolent dictator who makes good decisions than the joke of corrupt politics we have in Europe currently. We're so good at self-congratulating ourselves that we haven't realised we've lost our way.