Quote by MnemethA
"democratic republic" is a far better way to run such a large nation. If the system in place works to keep
balance between the masses and representatives then the nation is much better off that trying to have every decision
made by popular vote. Remember a person is smart. People as a mass group tend to be idiots.
Idiots come and go, I frankly feel that idiocy in many societies (such as even my very own U.S.) is encouraged as that
an idiot's opinions are easier to sway and manipulate for personal gain, or for the sheer aspect of control. As was
stated earlier by another poster about easier being better, that is not always the case. A direct democracy would be
incredibly hard to maintain, and of course would be more of a better addition in that of a static society that does not
advance incramentally for hundreds (or thousands) of years at a time. The representative democracy is of course better
suited for where we are at now, as that once the levy breaks on that of scientific advancement (big business, such as
the oil industry are only prolonging the inevitable), the entirety of our planet will change socially and economically
in a series of (radical in cases) overhauls. A direct democracy would probably not survive in a nonstatic environment
filled with rapid change, especially not in the information/fusion age earth we inhabit now.
We, in the grand scheme of things are still quite new on the block. One hundred years ago, most of America was agrarian,
cities were lit with gas lamps, there was no concept of such things as outer space, or DNA technologies, or computers.
To some, the sense of the simple agrarian mindset is engrained so deeply, that with modernity and it's
"horrors" of technological advances, the abandonment of God and the embracing of reason, and all the things
which they do not understand may lead to fundamentalism or the embracing of extreme ideology as a security blanket. You
and I in the intelligent debate aspect are separated by hundreds (if not thousands) of miles and speaking freely through
that of a forum. We both have the advantage also of being intelligent and civilized beings, and can admit when
we're wrong, or reach consensus on a particular issue. Not all are as gifted, or intelligent though. A direct
democracy instituted in this era would probably be ravaged by rioting and complete chaos as elements of both right and
left wings sought to essentially prove who's right via force. In more extreme cases, this could even deteriorate
into domestic terrorism, or eventually even civil war.
Until the day that we decide that we have advanced far enough beyond our original constraints (this may even be a
dangerous decision), we probably won't employ a direct democracy as a governmental structure. Not that it would not
work; It just won't work here right now. The free exchange of ideas is noble I'm sure, a great way to express
views on a particular subject or line of inquiry. It's when someone aims to cause you bodily harm for disagreeing
upon their view, or hearing only what you want to hear that problems begin to arise in the system.
Representative democracy would probably be the better option, with a couple overhauls and some takings out of the trash
(I.E. the entire American Neoconservative branch, rotten eggs scattered across both parties, and the entirety of the
corporate lobbying base in the case of my own), it will probably work quite well. To think, many of these problems could
have been prevented simply by the use of a little bit more foresight and anticipation of consequence for things such as
imperialism, although, in the modern era politicians have proven that it's perfectly fine to create your own
reality, a precedent I'm sure others will follow with disasterous consequences until or unless the people step back
in again.
-Acyx
"And Saint Attila raised the hand grenade up on high, saying, "O Lord, bless this thy hand grenade, that with
it thou mayst blow thine enemies to tiny bits, in thy mercy." And the Lord did grin. And the people did feast upon
the lambs and sloths, and carp and anchovies, and orangutans and breakfast cereals, and fruit-bats and large
chu..."
