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The Forum > General Discussion > are we a democracy?

are we a democracy?

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Hi AC I said " Not withstanding the practical limitations I would have to answer, Yes (we are a democracy)." The practical limitations should be a concern. A camel is a horse once one considers the practical limitations of horses.

You said //Democracy has so many holes is like a piece of Swiss cheese.// I'll add, and sometimes with the odor of Limburger!

The Americans think a true democracy is where everyone votes for who should be dog catcher. Then they put a bloke into the White House who becomes a virtual dictator for four years.

The old Communist regimes thought they were democracies as well. They gave the voters a choice of two candidates. The fact they both came from the same party didn't matter, after all, only the party knows whats best for everyone. Their biggest mistake was, they didn't allow the people to vote for who should be dog catcher, which is their inalienable right in a true democracy!

We are a bit like the commo's, given a practical ( there's that word again) choice between Tweedle-Dum from Party A, and Tweedle-Even-Dummer from Party B. Why should the Tweedle people want to change things, they know which side their breads buttered when it comes to democracy, it must be perfect, after all it gets them elected.
Posted by Paul1405, Monday, 10 September 2018 5:28:38 AM
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Boxy,

As above. There will never be a once-and-for-all perfect political system - democracy needs constant vigilance and as much participation as is practicable.

All once-and-for-all Utopias degenerate into fascism. That's surely been the first sorry lesson of history. After all, a 'blueprint' has to be touted as set in stone from the beginning, and it needs an anti-democratic regime to tout it, and to crush any opposition. Almost immediately after seizing power, realities force the 'rulers' to make modifications, but if anybody points them out, the new dictators have to, most regrettably, bring in the executioners. And predictably, some of the most fervent early supporters are amongst its early victims.

That's the second lesson of history.

Joe
Posted by Loudmouth, Monday, 10 September 2018 2:05:12 PM
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Welcome Boxy,

First your title-question is a bit strange: "are we a democracy?"

- I am not a democracy and I hope that you are not one either: "democracy" is only an abstract concept and abstract concepts do not type on keyboards or initiate discussions...

Now suppose you include yourself in a larger group whom you call "we", then you must specify who those "we" are. Still, I fail to see how any group of non-democracies can constitute a democracy.

What you more likely meant to ask was: "Do we (=some group which you believe yourself and all readers to belong to) HAVE a democracy?", and by the context of your questions, you most likely meant that group to be the citizens of the state of Australia.

Assuming that to be the case, the answer is in the negative: the citizens of Australia do not have a democracy. This is because the Australian electoral system neither allows citizens to be represented, nor to indicate in any other way what their wishes are, so one could at least know what the majority wants over the various issues that affect their lives. Instead, Paul1405 already described how one big party split itself in two (Tweedle-Dum and Tweedle-Even-Dummer) and all one can practically do at election-time is to select between those "two".

Is a democracy even desirable?

Should a group of people all agree to such an arrangement, then a democracy could be quite a good thing. However, when a group (such as the group whom you seem to call "we") has no such consensus in place, a democracy would result in some people ruling over others without their consent - which is a form of violence, thus unacceptable.

Since at least some of the people (in fact most) who live in this continent have never even been asked for their consent, how less so agreed to such (presumed-democratic) arrangements, enforcing a democracy (or a seemingly-democracy) is a violent atrocity: the fact that the same is practised almost all over the world, does not reduce its severity!
Posted by Yuyutsu, Monday, 10 September 2018 3:51:24 PM
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Whatever votes claimed by the winning side, cut that number in half.

Many people did not actually support the winning party, but they still voted for them.

They voted for them because they hated the policies of their opponent.

If we vote for the lesser evil, or if we vote our support for one lot simply out of disgust of the other, well it's a really screwed up system people, and I don't think incumbents can in any way claim the support they think they have.
Posted by Armchair Critic, Tuesday, 11 September 2018 8:24:02 AM
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Oppositions should put forward solutions instead of sabotaging every policy by the encumbent.
It's our lives they're playing silly games with, no matter which party.
Australians need to shake off their insipid opportunism & consider fellow citizens & the Nation.
Posted by individual, Tuesday, 11 September 2018 6:18:01 PM
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Clayton's Democracy.
- The democracy you have when you're not having a democracy.
http://youtu.be/ylH43Tcaj60
Posted by Armchair Critic, Thursday, 13 September 2018 4:58:44 AM
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