Is Democracy the Right Choice for all? Documentary Report

[grandpa]

Quote by: mark3748 That's why I said constitutionally-limited, if you have the rights of citizens clearly laid out and respected, there is a far less chance of the predatory and conniving behavior. That is the way it was intended in the US.

The United States government does not have benign origins.
Slavery mainly existed because of concentrated govt. intervention, for example.

In fact, I'd argue that any virtually any system of authority entails predatory, conniving behavior, as well as some degree of ignorance.

Grandpa h.

[grandpa]

Quote by: Keith Hamburger Perhaps the whole concept of "leaders" might be a "little screwed up". If you vote for someone who you know is not bound to follow their promises, and that, historically, such people voted into power tend not to follow their promises, how can you claim a right to complain about what they did?

And usually they only follow-up on the bad promises.

Grandpa h.

[mark3748]

Quote by: grandpa The United States government doe snot have benign origins. Slavery mainly existed because of concentrated govt. intervention, for example.

I never said it was benign, but slavery exsisted long before the US was independent, all over the world and especially in the Americas. Most of the slavery in the US after independence was a holdover from British rule. Was it right? no, but it was the way things were done. Times have changed and things are better.

[grandpa]

Quote by: mark3748 I never said it was benign, but slavery exsisted long before the US was independent, all over the world and especially in the Americas. Most of the slavery in the US after independence was a holdover from British rule.

Well, the origins of this government weren't benign for a reason. A system of authority was being imposed upon the original population as well as imported slaves. Nothing about that suggests a Constitutional repoublic, Representative Democracy, or authority positions in general make life stable.

Indeed, we can see many people with power today acting basically like children, competing to see who is "the most superior of all." That's hardly what I would call 'enlightenment," and history provdes precious little reason to expect anything different from political leaders -- even the elected ones.

Grandpa h.

[mark3748]

I was researching another topic and came across something that very succinctly explains the point I was trying to get across:

[the] Republican form of government acknowledges that the sovereign power is founded in the people, individually, not in the collective or whole body of free citizens, as in a democratic form. Thus no majority can deprive a minority of their sovereign rights and powers.

Sovereignty - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia