4 ms·

Isn't it awesome that the "democracy" can be bought by bribing a small number of politicians in charge. Whoever set that system up, didn't think it through.

by rorrr 15y ago

tokenadult 15y ago
This is a well known result of public choice theory. http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/PublicChoice.html http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/PublicChoice.html Well, maybe this is not well known enough, because school civics lessons usually don't teach this. I'll refrain from speculating about what interest groups might be influencing the school curriculum. As Winston Churchill said, "Many forms of Government have been tried and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time." http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Winston_Churchill http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Winston_Churchill Or as James Madison put it, "But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government; but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions." http://www.constitution.org/fed/federa51.htm http://www.constitution.org/fed/federa51.htm If it really becomes impossible for people to operate legitimate, opinion-promoting websites (as contrasted with copyright-infringing websites, which I don't operate), then the way out of the problem is the same as it has always been, people power. http://www.aeinstein.org/organizations98ce.html http://www.aeinstein.org/organizations98ce.html
- rorrr 15y ago
  Well, there are many truly democratic systems that nobody has tried yet. For instance a system where any citizen can vote on any issue. To prevent the tyranny of the majority, there can be rules set up. A system where people decide where their taxes go, how much to spend on healthcare, science, education, warfare.
  - tokenadult 15y ago
    Initiative and referendum http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Initiative_and_referendum http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Initiative_and_referen... are old ideas of the Progressive movement of a century ago, and they are blamed by some observers for the mess that California is now in. http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2489519 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2489519
    - narrator 15y ago
      Illinois is in an even worse mess and they don't have initiatives.
      - lutorm 15y ago
        absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.
    - rorrr 15y ago
      California is nothing like what I described.
    - protomyth 15y ago
      Other states have ballot / referendum and are doing pretty good. California is more a case study in "voting money to groups to elect me to vote for more money".
protomyth 15y ago
republics are a tad bit easier to buy off than actual democracies just because of the number of people you actually need to bribe.
cookiecaper 15y ago
Like all governments, it boils down to what the governed persons are willing to tolerate. As people become more complacent and idle, and as more people get their information from tainted sources, things only get worse. In general terms, a population deserves its government.
jamesbritt 15y ago
Isn't it awesome that the "democracy" can be bought by bribing a small number of politicians in charge. Whoever set that system up, didn't think it through. "Democracy is not freedom. Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to eat for lunch. Freedom comes from the recognition of certain rights which may not be taken, not even by a 99% vote. " http://articles.latimes.com/1992-01-12/local/me-358_1_jail-tax-individual-rights-san-diego http://articles.latimes.com/1992-01-12/local/me-358_1_jail-t...

Isn't it awesome that the "democracy" can be bought by bribing a small number of politicians in charge. Whoever set that system up, didn't think it through.

by rorrr 15y ago

Isn't it awesome that the "democracy" can be bought by bribing a small number of politicians in charge. Whoever set that system up, didn't think it through.

tokenadult 15y ago

This is a well known result of public choice theory. http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/PublicChoice.html http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/PublicChoice.html Well, maybe this is not well known enough, because school civics lessons usually don't teach this. I'll refrain from speculating about what interest groups might be influencing the school curriculum. As Winston Churchill said, "Many forms of Government have been tried and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time." http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Winston_Churchill http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Winston_Churchill Or as James Madison put it, "But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government; but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions." http://www.constitution.org/fed/federa51.htm http://www.constitution.org/fed/federa51.htm If it really becomes impossible for people to operate legitimate, opinion-promoting websites (as contrasted with copyright-infringing websites, which I don't operate), then the way out of the problem is the same as it has always been, people power. http://www.aeinstein.org/organizations98ce.html http://www.aeinstein.org/organizations98ce.html

rorrr 15y ago
Well, there are many truly democratic systems that nobody has tried yet. For instance a system where any citizen can vote on any issue. To prevent the tyranny of the majority, there can be rules set up. A system where people decide where their taxes go, how much to spend on healthcare, science, education, warfare.
- tokenadult 15y ago
  Initiative and referendum http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Initiative_and_referendum http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Initiative_and_referen... are old ideas of the Progressive movement of a century ago, and they are blamed by some observers for the mess that California is now in. http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2489519 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2489519
  - narrator 15y ago
    Illinois is in an even worse mess and they don't have initiatives.
    - lutorm 15y ago
      absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.
  - rorrr 15y ago
    California is nothing like what I described.
  - protomyth 15y ago
    Other states have ballot / referendum and are doing pretty good. California is more a case study in "voting money to groups to elect me to vote for more money".

protomyth 15y ago

republics are a tad bit easier to buy off than actual democracies just because of the number of people you actually need to bribe.

cookiecaper 15y ago

Like all governments, it boils down to what the governed persons are willing to tolerate. As people become more complacent and idle, and as more people get their information from tainted sources, things only get worse. In general terms, a population deserves its government.

jamesbritt 15y ago

Isn't it awesome that the "democracy" can be bought by bribing a small number of politicians in charge. Whoever set that system up, didn't think it through. "Democracy is not freedom. Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to eat for lunch. Freedom comes from the recognition of certain rights which may not be taken, not even by a 99% vote. " http://articles.latimes.com/1992-01-12/local/me-358_1_jail-tax-individual-rights-san-diego http://articles.latimes.com/1992-01-12/local/me-358_1_jail-t...