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Democracy only works when just about everyone wants the same thing. And even then leaders generally abuse power. The lower the stakes, the worse it gets.
by version_five 3y ago
Democracy only works when just about everyone wants the same thing. And even then leaders generally abuse power. The lower the stakes, the worse it gets.
- gochi 3y agoDemocracy works when most involved disagree actually, that's its primary function over other formats. Otherwise just go with a king since everyone wants the same thing.
- Swenrekcah 3y agoI think I agree with the point but people don’t need to want all the same things so I think I’d rather phrase it this way: “Democracy fails when the people and their leaders fail to realise that the thing they want above all is peace and general prosperity, and that neither of those is a naturally occurring phenomenon.” Because the peaceful transfer of power as well as respect for the truth, and equality before the law is the absolute foundation that any prosperous democracy needs.
- version_five 3y agoDoesn't that just kick the problem down the road to the definition of peace and general prosperity? If people have irreconcilable differences over what those mean, they still may not be able to find the common ground needed for running a business or country. With something more nimble like a business it's easy to imagine vastly different views on how the business can prosper, which makes the benevolent dictator (business owner) model all the more attractive.
- Swenrekcah 3y agoWell, I don't think people around the world have vastly different definitions of peace and prosperity. For example, Ukraine is definitely not experiencing that at this stage in time. Neither is Sudan, Ecuador, etc.
- avgcorrection 3y agoOligarchy only works because only what the 10%, 1% (or whatever the cutoff) wants matters so what everyone else wants is per definition irrelevant.