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> In order for democracy to actually work, you need a population that is educated enough to make the right choices for the country. You also need to fight corru

> In order for democracy to actually work, you need a population that is educated enough to make the right choices for the country. You also need to fight corruption first, or else people will take advantage of the democratic system I'm not sure what this means, given that the U.S. was uneducated and had massive, widespread corruption throughout the 19th century...but I've never heard anyone put forward the argument that democracy didn't work for the first 150 years of the U.S.

deleted 9y ago
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mark_edward 9y ago
it really didn't. democracy was highly restricted for the first 150 years of the U.S.
- js8 9y ago
  Actually, that's not true in the U.S. Before the WWI, there was a strong movement (which was killed by federal government because of the WWI) to direct democracy in many U.S. states and it left with the democracy that's modern comparatively to many countries even today. I don't think it's a coincidence that the two most democratic countries, USA (at least at local level) and Switzerland are also among the most successful ones. The "they have to wait until they are ready" argument was always a red herring regarding democracy. It's like with any other skill, you don't learn by waiting until you're ready to become an expert, you learn by doing.
  - mark_edward 9y ago
    I'm not against democracy. I'm just saying, by WWI women couldn't vote, most black people couldn't vote (though the legal right was there since the 14th and 15th amendment, white terror and legal disenfranchisement effectively suppressed the black vote) , so you're talking a majority of the population disenfranchised, that's a quite restricted democracy.
taobility 9y ago
Even right now, most Chinese wouldn't jealous US so called democracy regarding what happened here in the past decade.
- Robotbeat 9y ago
  The most powerful Chinese propaganda is that which hits the mark.
  - justicezyx 9y ago
    Propaganda has the same nature all over the world: Let the people believe what they were allowed to believe So I often just say I dont know, if I was asked to comment on anything. Because I really did not know much to form a valid point. I advise you to do the same.

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mark_edward 9y ago

it really didn't. democracy was highly restricted for the first 150 years of the U.S.

js8 9y ago
Actually, that's not true in the U.S. Before the WWI, there was a strong movement (which was killed by federal government because of the WWI) to direct democracy in many U.S. states and it left with the democracy that's modern comparatively to many countries even today. I don't think it's a coincidence that the two most democratic countries, USA (at least at local level) and Switzerland are also among the most successful ones. The "they have to wait until they are ready" argument was always a red herring regarding democracy. It's like with any other skill, you don't learn by waiting until you're ready to become an expert, you learn by doing.
- mark_edward 9y ago
  I'm not against democracy. I'm just saying, by WWI women couldn't vote, most black people couldn't vote (though the legal right was there since the 14th and 15th amendment, white terror and legal disenfranchisement effectively suppressed the black vote) , so you're talking a majority of the population disenfranchised, that's a quite restricted democracy.

taobility 9y ago

Even right now, most Chinese wouldn't jealous US so called democracy regarding what happened here in the past decade.

Robotbeat 9y ago
The most powerful Chinese propaganda is that which hits the mark.
- justicezyx 9y ago
  Propaganda has the same nature all over the world: Let the people believe what they were allowed to believe So I often just say I dont know, if I was asked to comment on anything. Because I really did not know much to form a valid point. I advise you to do the same.