4 ms·

> Currently, governing decisions are made behind closed doors by a group of elites that carefully deliberate their choices after taking public opinion into acco

> Currently, governing decisions are made behind closed doors by a group of elites that carefully deliberate their choices after taking public opinion into account. How do you know how carefully choices are deliberated and how much public opinion is taken into account if decisions are being made behind closed doors?

magicsmoke 6y ago
You don't. You just have faith that's being done, like you have faith that democracy will always produce the best outcome eventually. Which of those two assertions above makes you more uncomfortable reflects the education system you went to, the society you grew up in, the people you interact with, and your sense of identity. I'm reminded of how Greek city states all used to have their own deities, believed their deities would lead them to wealth and glory, and that war between cities would prove who had the more powerful divine protector. Swap out deities for government systems and the world doesn't seem to have changed all that much.
- MarkSweep 6y ago
  All other things being equal, a government that limits freedom of speech, freedom of speech, and is secretive will compare favorable to a government that does not try to hide its problems. We don’t have enough information to compare the authoritarian system with the liberal democracy. In an uptrend comment you said: > when the current philosopher kings are doing so well, only a minority of people on the margins of society really want to rock the boat. There are interesting trade offs along of the spectrum of individualism and collectivism. It’s hard to talk about whether or not China has gotten that trade off right when information about the “margins of society” is suppressed.
- jorblumesea 6y ago
  I don't think anyone believes democracy will produce the "best outcome", just merely that it provides representation and roughly reflects the will of the people. The people can make terrible, ignorant short sighted decisions, see: Brexit, or Trump.

magicsmoke 6y ago

You don't. You just have faith that's being done, like you have faith that democracy will always produce the best outcome eventually. Which of those two assertions above makes you more uncomfortable reflects the education system you went to, the society you grew up in, the people you interact with, and your sense of identity. I'm reminded of how Greek city states all used to have their own deities, believed their deities would lead them to wealth and glory, and that war between cities would prove who had the more powerful divine protector. Swap out deities for government systems and the world doesn't seem to have changed all that much.

MarkSweep 6y ago
All other things being equal, a government that limits freedom of speech, freedom of speech, and is secretive will compare favorable to a government that does not try to hide its problems. We don’t have enough information to compare the authoritarian system with the liberal democracy. In an uptrend comment you said: > when the current philosopher kings are doing so well, only a minority of people on the margins of society really want to rock the boat. There are interesting trade offs along of the spectrum of individualism and collectivism. It’s hard to talk about whether or not China has gotten that trade off right when information about the “margins of society” is suppressed.
jorblumesea 6y ago
I don't think anyone believes democracy will produce the "best outcome", just merely that it provides representation and roughly reflects the will of the people. The people can make terrible, ignorant short sighted decisions, see: Brexit, or Trump.