Democracy

[BluntRM]

"Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those others that have been tried from time to time.":D

[BluntRM]

Winston Churchill

[phlegm]

Democracy has some definite disadvantages. Its unbounded inefficiency comes to mind. Sometimes I wonder if this "almost democracy" we have in the USA would survive if we weren't all so wealthy.

[ice_cold_uni6]

so what are you suggesting? we simply give up all attempts at governing peoples? i did not even want to grace this thread with my reply.

[JJuggle]

"Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those others that have been tried from time to time.":D
I see you've fixed your sig. ;)

A perusal of quote sites does indicate that Churchill said this, though it is unclear from what I've found whether or not he actually added the "from time to time" to the end. It makes a bit of a difference since other forms of government have been tried quite a bit more than from time to time. Somehow I can't see him being so imprecise. But no matter.

Didn't Tom Paine in Common Sense say essentially the same thing 150 or so years earlier if not a bit more long windedly?

[JJuggle]

though it is unclear from what I've found whether or not he actually added the "from time to time" to the end. It makes a bit of a difference since other forms of government have been tried quite a bit more than from time to time. Somehow I can't see him being so imprecise.
I'd like to officially withdraw this part of my comment. The Brits among us will know why. ;)

[Tim Morin]

Democracy, as a theory is wonderful. But I don't think man has the ability to properly govern things, regardless of what type of government is implemented.

[BluntRM]

It was on "Law & Order" while I was in front of the computer...
...and I also thought I'd defer to the Brits on accuracy.


Tom Paine stretches my Knowledge of early American history pretty thin, but I've been reading Francis Fukuyama's "The End of History", that is liberal democracy is the "end of history", the pinnacle of development, it's very Hegalian.

[monkeyman]

Didn't Tom Paine in Common Sense say essentially the same thing 150 or so years earlier if not a bit more long windedly?

Yes

so what are you suggesting? we simply give up all attempts at governing peoples?

Pumpkin is the worst type of pie, except for all other types of pie.

[BillyTheMountain]

What exactly IS democracy?

Does anyone here live in a democracy?

Is democracy where lobbyists with corporate money bribe legislators to make laws which benefit the corporations?

[JJuggle]

Is democracy where lobbyists with corporate money bribe legislators to make laws which benefit the corporations?
I thought that was more or less the definition of fascism.

[UniBrier]

This made me think of the quote: “A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine.” The site where I found that says it is a Thomas Jefferson quote, is that correct?


I thought the US was a Republic.

[wobbling bear]

have a look at that one : http://iranproject.info/articles/article.asp?Key=25