The Failure of Democracy

Democracy is a flawed system of government. The concept of democracy is rule by the people. On a large scale most democracies are democratic republics with elected electors, but power still rest in the votes of each individual.

This system has a very dangerous flaw. To hold power one must have the approval of the voters. However, humans are susceptible to psychological tricks to gain loyalty. Mind games and deceit can pull in large numbers of votes from those not educated or trained in seeing through these tricks. Because the vast majority of people, even well educated people, are not trained to see through these psychological ploys, democracy becomes rule by trickery.

In the modern world of big media people are deluged with images and sound bites that are very effective at gaining votes through lies and half-truths or even oversimplified truth. There is no need to provide solid facts or debate issues in detail because the people that are interested and able to understand these things are the minority. So politicians and their teams of salesmen go for the large crowds who are easily convinced.

Thus democracy becomes a giant game of subtle mind control where images and sounds pull the right strings. All of us are susceptible to these tricks to some degree. Democracy is still rule by the people, the problem is people are now basing their vote on psychological control by our leaders.

Many people are already aware of this disturbing change of democracy in the media age. Now we are left with the question, what will come of it? How are we to advance our governments and ourselves when we have turned into a society of the fooled and manipulated?

As Winston Churchill once said.....

Democracy is the worse possible form of Government......except for all the others.

Just because we are currently in a situation where our sources of information are held by a few and this is a dangerous situation does not mean that democracy itself is at fault or doomed, rather, that we should ensure the public can be properly informed.

Originally posted by sminkeypinkey

Just because we are currently in a situation where our sources of information are held by a few and this is a dangerous situation does not mean that democracy itself is at fault or doomed, rather, that we should ensure the public can be properly informed.

I am I correct that you both agree that democracy is currently disfunctional?

Sminkeypinkey, do you have any thoughts on how what you suggest can be done?

Likewise, a question for Quest: do you have any suggestions as to how to approach the problems you outlined?

Originally posted by Fu Manchu
I am I correct that you both agree that democracy is currently disfunctional?

- I'd say it's more that the environment democracy is expected to function properly in is disfunctional.

Sminkeypinkey, do you have any thoughts on how what you suggest can be done?

- Yes, I have a few ideas.

Place mandatory limits on the number and type of media outlets any one company/corporation or individual may own.

Media should IMHO not be treated just like an ordinary 'commodity'. It's way too important to all of us for that.

Along with monitoring, limits and requirements on such things as balance, 'right to reply' and access.





[edit on 31-10-2004 by sminkeypinkey]

sminkey, man, i know you and i have had our disagreements in the past but damn that is very insightful and i agree 100%. cool.

Well let's see,

I can feel Socrates, Aristotle, and Plato rolling in their graves as I write. It is not Democracy that is a failure, it is our system of a Capitalistic Democracy
For it is a oxymoron, you can not have one with the other. Wealth and Power will always conquer the opinion of the oppressed. Two % of our population controls 90% of our wealth as a collective Democracy. Therefore we are not a Democratic State, we are a Tyranny of Power. Get It

TUT the IRRITANT

Our democracy has not failed us.....we have failed it.

Right now if you ask 90% of the people how many people are running for president they will say two.

If you ask how many political parties there are they will say two.

When I voted there were 5 parties on the ballot and 5 candidates for president.

Most of us are two lazy to research the issues and the stance of those running we are happy to be spoon fed the facts straight from those running.

Even a teenage girl knows not to believe everything someone says that is tryiong to get into her pants

That is exactly what the big wish to do to the country

Our fore Fathers fought the strongest Army in the world at that time with a handful of unpaid farmers

And today we cant pull ourselves away from Fox or Cnn long enough to look at ALL the candidates and choose the one that represents US.

Even when we do most are brainwashed into the "wasted vote" mindframe. This is not a horse race you are not trying to guess who the winner will be and vote for him. You are susposed to vote for who you think will do the best job.

Blaming the country for our faults is just trying to avoid the responsabilty for what WE have allowed to happen

Heres a good place to start looking

www.lp.org...


[edit on 31-10-2004 by Amuk]

Originally posted by astroblade
sminkey, man, i know you and i have had our disagreements in the past but damn that is very insightful and i agree 100%. cool.

- Cheers for that Astroblade. Nice one.

.....and you know that however heated it gets from time to time most of us are all pals really, huh?

AMUK- Nice Link!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've started so many conversations at school about the absence of coverage of 3rd parties, we're even trying to start a Young Libertarians Club at school to hold debates with the Young Democrats and Young Republicans. Ha!

This is true, we HAVE failed democracy. Individually, we are not born into a democratic piece of mind. Humans are instinctively power hungry, we want things done our own specific way. How we want it, when we want it.

We are, however, raised into this democratic mindframe, where we learn to balance others opinions, feelings, and needs and make them as important as our own. We achieve to better the group instead of ourselves.

But when those in power are NOT those whose education pulls them into a democratic state, they cannot rule, or even comprhend this way of thinking.

Thus....tyranny.

Thus...we fail democracy.

Thus...more and more of us are lost in an epic battle between doing what we know is right and failing, and doing nothing at all; neither failing nor winning.

having 4 different news stations is not democracy. The power to turn off the TV and discover something for yourself is.

Can you now see how we have failed?