favorite forms of government

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social democracy

mixed democracy

participatory democracy

consensus democracy

social democracy would, by far, be the best system but the demands from its citizens would be too high for an american audience to really grasp and operate it effectively. i mean they couldn't even handle something as basic as a democratic republic.

Why are all of these democracy? I disapprove of democracy generally, because it doesn't seem to serve any useful purpose. Are collectively made decisions any better than those made by a smaller group? I'm ultimately more concerned with the impact of government action on everyday life than the manner in which it makes its decisions, and I'm a libertarian, so I will support any form of government that respects individual rights and doesn't interfere in the free market. Thus, I could go for minarchism, a republic, anarchism (almost, I'm still not convinced that individual rights would be adequately guaranteed here) or enlightened despotism. Democracy, IMO, involves more people than necessary in the political process and places burdens on people that really aren't necessary. To function properly, a democracy requires that large groups of people all become experts on a subject to be decided; for simple practical purposes of opportunity cost I would rather these issues be decided by a small group of specialists.

Socialism

monarchy under a very benevolent king.

I would also say monarchy under a very benevolent king.

There are two problems with this though. One, how do you ensure the king stays benevolent? Power has a way of corrupting people. Two, how do you ensure a benevolent successor? A monarchy under an evil king is one of the worst forms of government imaginable.

That's why some kind of democracy seems more practical even if it's not as good. It lasts longer. A democracy won't fall into evil easily if the majority of voters oppose it.

Still, if you could make it work, a monarchy would be great.

controlled anarchy. Just be polite and civil and there will be no problems. Try hurting someone or taking their property and there will be a problem.

Just do what you want when you want so long as it's peaceful and it doesn't harm anyone and we're good!

so then what would be the control to ensure the right decisions were made? democracy is a good form of government that sucks because too many people are apathetic and lazy.

it amazes me how quickly you guys forget your history and the miserable failings of kings and queens and other such forms of government.

The silent mantra of the sheeple is as follows:

The more dysfunctional and reality-tv-like the party, the better the system. Common since from an objective standpoint never tells anyone what they WANT to hear, therefore, common since is the enemy. And any objectors who provide a common since counter-point are "enemies". Ignorance, apathy, selfishness, corruption, greed, group think, and hypocracy are cherished traits for leaders, and for society. Denial is a way of life. it's "the game". Any anyone who doesn't "play the game" is "weird" or "dumb"...... Positive values, such as integrity, honesty, loyalty, selflessness, etc. are scorned, because they go against the rules of "the game". Yet, they pretend to be "positive" and shun the truth because it's "negative"... While they silently flock to "negative" values to run their society on, because it "feels good".
The "normal" thing to do, is to be a total robot, and back your "clique" no matter what they say or do. And tag objectors as "NAZIs" or "Commies"... While thinking such a system could actually never happen to you, because obviously your john doe, the universe revolves around you and you are "teachers pet" over Ishmael who lived in Germany in the 30's, or Raoul who lived in Russia, or Kunta who died on the plantation. Even if it's undisputably proven in front of your face, truthers are still "wacky conspiracy theorists" in your mind, because you edit what you do not **want** to hear (and still manage to think your view mounts to a hill of beans). To worship wealth, status, and authority like they are gods or goddesses, the golden gospel of authority, pay no attention to the number of times they lie to you. To bend over to corporations that make millions abusing you, merely because they give you entertainment and convenience. All this in the name of conformity.
Dude.... f**k politics. I understand we need some sort of system for people to operate functionally, but politics is a whole different ball of wax. It's just a big f*****g cult. This is Dr. Real signing off on another real report, for those people who treat "keeping it real" as a lifestyle, not a disposable, empty, meaningless, hypocritical, delusional fashion trend.

Last edited by snake321 on 14 Apr 2008, 2:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.

A democracy in which a politician's job is strictly that of a staffer and coordinator. Transparency would be the ideal.

i'd say it should be a democracy where one cannot be a politician and make a career of it. public servants should be just that: servants. not kings and dukes and lords.

basically true communism,?

What's the control in democracy to make sure the right decisions are made? Democracy is a crappy form of government that sucks because it is impractical for so many people all to be experts. Also, too many people are easily manipulated. I don't forget my history, I am aware that monarchy has its flaws. I would like enlightened despotism well enough, but then you have the issue of succession and how to ensure that your despot remains enlightened. A republic would probably be better, but it might be best if enfranchisement was limited in some manner. As I said, I care more about what government actually does rather than worrying about procedural matters such as how it makes its decisions.

You don't need experts to make good decisions. Have you heard of the book, The Wisdom of Crowds? It explains that under the right circumstances a group of average people consistently outperform the "experts." You have to be a citizen. Many states don't let felons vote either. Who or what else would you exclude? Alas, I fear this is true. I mostly blame it on unionized assembly-line government schools designed more to create obedient factory workers rather than let people think for themselves. Fortunately, it takes a considerable amount of money to make sure a majority is manipulated in the same direction. This prevents bad changes from happening too easily in a democracy. Unfortunately, this inertia also means good changes don't happen too easily either, especially if those in power or with money oppose it. It's much easier to sow fear and doubt than to convince people to think.

If we could get the schools out of direct government control, and into a more free-market system, then some kind of demarchy/democratic republic hybrid may work better.

"The only good government is a dead government."