In many ways democracy is a lie. You still have a system of government that puts a handful of people in fairly powerful positions. These people will always do what is needed to keep the power they have.
For centuries democracy has focused on the elites. They have done a good job of keeping participation low and therefore creating an under informed population. Commonly in the US, you’ll hear phrases like “It doesn’t matter who I vote for.” “My vote doesn’t count.” “They’re all the same.”
When you have a voting populace who has regularly not participated and talk with authority to them, you can get them to buy whatever you’re selling.
When you have a voting populace who has regularly not participated and talk with authority to them, you can get them to buy whatever you’re selling.
It’s part of human social dynamics. There is no way around that, afaik. In theory, having more critical political participation would create a more democratic platform on the short run. But on the long run, they’ll probably become incorporated and become a legitimate “pressure group”, ergo partner of the same system. Unfortunately, for now I don’t see any changes in the emancipation of Individual human behaviour from human group behaviour.
So, it’s all human nature, in praxis.
Added: Just @ huppakke.feddit.nl statement. Seemingly making more or less the same point.
Depends on how you look at it. If you believe democracy is a system of government for the people, your statement is wrong, as soon as those in power only think of themselves the system is no longer democratic but something else. Democracy can also mean by the people, in which case you’d also be wrong: as soon as a powerful class hijacks the system they turn it into something that is not democratic. The problem is we don’t use the word democracy very strictly, which is why what you’re saying makes a lot of sense. Because what we basically all have is a system of government that puts a handful of people in fairly powerful positions, and not a democracy.
In many ways democracy is a lie. You still have a system of government that puts a handful of people in fairly powerful positions. These people will always do what is needed to keep the power they have.
For centuries democracy has focused on the elites. They have done a good job of keeping participation low and therefore creating an under informed population. Commonly in the US, you’ll hear phrases like “It doesn’t matter who I vote for.” “My vote doesn’t count.” “They’re all the same.”
When you have a voting populace who has regularly not participated and talk with authority to them, you can get them to buy whatever you’re selling.
It’s part of human social dynamics. There is no way around that, afaik. In theory, having more critical political participation would create a more democratic platform on the short run. But on the long run, they’ll probably become incorporated and become a legitimate “pressure group”, ergo partner of the same system. Unfortunately, for now I don’t see any changes in the emancipation of Individual human behaviour from human group behaviour. So, it’s all human nature, in praxis.
Added: Just @ huppakke.feddit.nl statement. Seemingly making more or less the same point.
Depends on how you look at it. If you believe democracy is a system of government for the people, your statement is wrong, as soon as those in power only think of themselves the system is no longer democratic but something else. Democracy can also mean by the people, in which case you’d also be wrong: as soon as a powerful class hijacks the system they turn it into something that is not democratic. The problem is we don’t use the word democracy very strictly, which is why what you’re saying makes a lot of sense. Because what we basically all have is a system of government that puts a handful of people in fairly powerful positions, and not a democracy.