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Democracy is a way to get things done while minimizing the potential damage inflicted by actors that have a lot of power on a large scale for long periods of ti

Democracy is a way to get things done while minimizing the potential damage inflicted by actors that have a lot of power on a large scale for long periods of time. It is not the most efficient way to do things. It explicitly sacrifices some of it to help prevent leaders with uncontested power from coming up with things like concentration camps for dissidents.

infogulch 5y ago
Democracy also defends against things like exploiting emergency powers to enact martial law. Wait...
- jquery 5y ago
  Democracies allow for the dispersion of unlawful protests. They also crush insurrections, that isn’t limited to authoritarian regimes. The point of civil disobedience isn’t to avoid jail, it’s to show you believe so strongly in your cause you’ll go to jail anyway, so people will listen to your cause and maybe sympathize. If we skip the step where civil obedience doesn’t result in consequences then we remove its signaling power and it just leads to a race to the bottom.
  - lenkite 5y ago
    https://twitter.com/justintrudeau/status/205322201187106816 https://twitter.com/justintrudeau/status/205322201187106816 Justin Trudeau: "When a government starts trying to cancel dissent or avoid dissent is when it’s rapidly losing its moral authority to govern" AKA Protest is terrific only when it doesn't happen in my backyard. Trudeau had no problem supporting "illegal" protests which blocked roads and essential supplies in other nations.
    - jsiepkes 5y ago
      Well, that isn't specific to Trudeau. Most people their actions aren't consistent with their words. People say all kinds of things without really having a vision or philosophy behind it. It's just how they feel at that particular moment. Unfortunately most societies offer more reward for easy answers and saying what people want to hear then staying consistent.

infogulch 5y ago

Democracy also defends against things like exploiting emergency powers to enact martial law. Wait...

jquery 5y ago
Democracies allow for the dispersion of unlawful protests. They also crush insurrections, that isn’t limited to authoritarian regimes. The point of civil disobedience isn’t to avoid jail, it’s to show you believe so strongly in your cause you’ll go to jail anyway, so people will listen to your cause and maybe sympathize. If we skip the step where civil obedience doesn’t result in consequences then we remove its signaling power and it just leads to a race to the bottom.
- lenkite 5y ago
  https://twitter.com/justintrudeau/status/205322201187106816 https://twitter.com/justintrudeau/status/205322201187106816 Justin Trudeau: "When a government starts trying to cancel dissent or avoid dissent is when it’s rapidly losing its moral authority to govern" AKA Protest is terrific only when it doesn't happen in my backyard. Trudeau had no problem supporting "illegal" protests which blocked roads and essential supplies in other nations.
  - jsiepkes 5y ago
    Well, that isn't specific to Trudeau. Most people their actions aren't consistent with their words. People say all kinds of things without really having a vision or philosophy behind it. It's just how they feel at that particular moment. Unfortunately most societies offer more reward for easy answers and saying what people want to hear then staying consistent.