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France had true democracy in the late 18th century. It became a popularity contest to send political enemies to the guillotine. Democracy isn't the same thing
by brockers 12y ago
France had true democracy in the late 18th century. It became a popularity contest to send political enemies to the guillotine.
Democracy isn't the same thing as liberty and unfortunately people have started to believe freedom == democracy. When in reality democracy is just a way to organize decisions.
To put is succinctly if unnecessarily crass, but one could argue that gang rape is democracy in action.
- hga 12y agoBefore that, our Founders had the object lessons of the crimes and existential stupidity of democratic Athens in the Peloponnesean War to warn them against too much "democracy". As well as sharp minds, they certainly realized that "democracy is two wolves and one sheep voting on what to have for dinner".
- dragonwriter 12y ago> France had true democracy in the late 18th century. It became a popularity contest to send political enemies to the guillotine. That was not a "true" democracy. It was a mixture of anarchy (in that what government there was didn't have firm control of much of the country, or even of much of the forces nominally acting in its behalf) and oligarchical autocracy (in that what government did have firm control was run essentially by fiat of the Committee of Public Safety.) Insofar as it was "democracy" at all, it was extremely indirect: electoral colleges were elected by the electorate (with ~11% turnout), who in turn elected delegates to the National Convention, which in turn appointed the Committee. The US (either at the time or now) has much closer to "true democracy", by any reasonable definition, than Revolutionary France ever had.