Is Democracy Dead?
Just wanted to write a short piece about something I discussed with a friend yesterday.
After the third beer we started talking about politics, society and philosophy. Generally I follow the simple rule that you should avoid discussions about politics and religion at a bar at all costs. It usually leads to nothing and both parties always keep claiming their points are more valid - so there is no intellectual gain to speak of.
This time I couldn't resist though. He started talking about democracy and how he thinks that we should adopt a new system.
His thinking was that democracy failed us and the leadership we have today is not representing the actual needs and desires of its people. Government is just a puppet of huge corporations and that all politicians basically work for Nestlé.
I couldn't agree with him. While I think he is right that more and more people feel their government does nothing for them, I still believe there is no better system than democracy. In my opinion it is the fairest and easiest way to find a governing body for a country. Everything else starts developing into an autocracy - because there will always be people who think that their opinions and feelings about certain subjects are supreme to others. And they will find a way to bully themselves to the top - in this case I believe democracy is the strongest shield against this.
But we have to care for democracy. Where I live we have an election this fall. And as always people will tell me that they won't vote because there is no party they actually like. So many people think you can only vote for the biggest parties because a vote for a small party is a waste. That is just wrong in my opinion. Every voice matters! If you don't like one of the bigger parties, just scroll down a few pages and search for a smaller party you believe in. You wouldn't believe how many parties there are, which actually try to achieve something and are run by everyday people. And if you found one you like - talk to your friends about it. Just spread the word. Afterall, thats how democracy started thousands of years ago.
This is my stance on this subject.
How do you feel about democracy? Should we adopt a new system or should we continue running with it?
Let me know in the comments!
Greetings,
ggorwell
P.S.: As always, I'm not a native - sorry for eventual mistakes.
I think that democracy is the way to go but it needs to involve people more. We need to move away from the current representative voting system that uses gerrymandering in so many states.
I do not agree with people not voting for any reason, maybe it should be made compulsory, but I can understand why some think there's no point. We had elections in countries with some of the longest democratic traditions that ignored the will of the people in a way and gave political majority to parties that did not have popular majority. We have elections in which the leading party wins and pushes unwelcome laws based on a 25% share of the vote.
While I agree that we need democracy, it needs to be reformed. Have a look at Swedish and Swiss government models; they're trying out some changes. Estonia comes to mind as well especially for the near future, they're e-citizenship program infrastructure is being finished and I think we will see it used in governance as well.
Very good points. Reforms are surely needed. Haven't heard about Estonias program yet - will definitely read up on it. Thanks for bringing this to my attention!
Have a look at https://e-resident.gov.ee/ . They're brilliant for doing this and are going to profit from it, I am sure of that.
I can't wait for them to port it into a blockchain version or for the first country to do it!
Wow that looks relly cool! Really looking forward to see how this thing will play out.
Man, you are damn right. I follow the same principle, but I have even enlarged its sphere of influence to "at any place and any time". :-)
Not voting is stupid, although voting doesn't make a difference. So I go voting anyway without expecting to really change anything by putting a cross in a predefined block every four years.
Haha yeah sticking to this rule never disappointed me to be honest :)
This one thought experiment that totally changed my ponit of view of democracy.
In a ship any decision should be made by the people who knows about shipping or every by every one who is on board.
So in democracy people who understands how democracy and nations work should vote or every one.
Just a thought.
Hm a really nice experiment. Will definitely think about it.