5 ms·
> Its not exactly a democracy, and some programs are essentially forced labour, requiring villagers to work for free and build these terraces and irrigation etc
by msandford 12y ago
> Its not exactly a democracy, and some programs are essentially forced labour, requiring villagers to work for free and build these terraces and irrigation etc
Well it's not as though a democracy is absolutely the best either; there are all kinds of undesirable features like losing 49/51 and getting basically no say for the next four years. But I digress.
In the case where very little money changes hands (subsistence farming) then compulsory labor is a more effective tax than requiring cash payments. Any percentage of nothing is still nothing. And at only 20 days out of a notional 250 work day year, it's less than a 10% tax which seems incredibly reasonable compared to what people in the developed world pay, generally between 20% and 70% (or more) depending on country, state and city.
- m0skit0 12y agoA lot of so-called "democratic" countries have forced labor as well. Working for a ridiculous wage is no better than forced labor. Anyway, yes, we're digressing.
- im3w1l 12y ago>losing 49/51 Well contrast that with dictatorships where the side with 95% support still loses, and it feels a lot better. This to me is the main feature of democracy. The second best option will occasionally win against the best one. But at least the terrible option will lose.
- msandford 12y agoI hear where you're coming from. And I generally agree. But I'm not 100% convinced that the terrible option always loses. In general it should. But it's not guaranteed by any means.
- MrBuddyCasino 12y agoI don't mean to imply that its a bad thing. There are even some instances where a military government was behaving better in some areas than a democratically elected one.