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In a democracy, over the long term, short term interests win out over long term interests. This is true of both the citizens and the politicians. In a monarchy
by infamouscow 3y ago
In a democracy, over the long term, short term interests win out over long term interests. This is true of both the citizens and the politicians.
In a monarchy, long term interests win out over short term interests because they're dynastic and stay within a family. There is a natural incentive for long term thinking that comes with a monarchy.
This problem is not democracy itself, but the incrementalism that occurs in democratic systems. At least in representative democracies, every few years another person is elected to carve out provisions to benefit their special interests. In theory, this would be the constituents. But in practice, after the politicians realize voters are unorganized, uninformed, and as self-interested as everyone else, the politician also focus on themselves (and you would too). Compound that over hundreds of years and it's should be clear as day why democratic governments inevitably grind to halt, become ineffective, collapse, and are recreated from a clean slate.
- sshumaker 3y agoMonarchies usually result in long-term thinking? I’m sure we haven’t read the same history books. Most monarchs throughout history have been very self-interested and their decisions have been focused on their own personal interest - the definition of short-term. I’m not claiming democracy is any better - humans are notoriously bad at long-term thinking unfortunately.
- passivegains 3y agoI mean, some of those personal interests were long term too. "Peasants need food within the next few days or they'll die": short term interests of the people. "I need aristocrats to take everyone's grain so I can make them be knights and keep people from overthrowing me": long term interests of the monarch. the people are very good at identifying their short-term interests (not starving,) but it's hard to figure out long-term collective interests (exactly how much grain to give up for however many armored guys on horses you need.) this is why modern democracies are usually republics.
- rendall 3y agoI do think this is an interesting perspective even though I disagree that monarchies result in more long-term thinking. You do raise the issue of how to structure government to encourage more long-term, or rational, planning. I don't think that short-term thinking is inherent to democracy any more than a two-party duopoly is inherent to democracy. As with the US and UK duopoly, short-term, self-interested government policies may be due to election incentives or the frameworks in which elections take place.
- infamouscow 3y agoShort term thinking is inherent to democracy. This isn't contested in political philosophy circles, just amongst people with a romanticized understanding of a very specific form of representative democracy they happen to live within. For example, short term interests have preempted long-term interests with regards to climate change. But, even if the government passed a law on climate change, at what point in the future should the law be ignored or changed. Is it one year, ten years, or one hundred years? Further, what about all of the laws from the past you've dismissed as antiquated or arcane? It's intellectually dishonest to argue those laws weren't passed without any long-term thinking just because they don't comport with society now.
- rendall 3y ago> This isn't contested in political philosophy circles. *[citation needed]