Democracy... while it lasts is more bloody than either aristocracy or monarchy. Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There is never a democracy that did not commit suicide. -- John Adams John Adams Quote http://izquotes.com/quote/1104 With reference to the above quote, netizens are welcome to analyse and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of democracy. The following article may serve as an interesting point for discussion. Netizens are welcome to post links of other articles on democracy. Time to Admit It, Democratic Government is a Lie http://www.veteranstoday.com/2012/01/16/kill-democracy-before-it-kills-us/ Meanwhile, to show my fairness and neutrality, I have also posted another topic entitled "Advantages and Disadvantages of Totalitarianism". All netizens are welcome to give their opinions on both the opposing political systems.
Democracy dies when patriots lose vigilance. I believe that democracy is good, so long as the citizens do not forget the signs of tyranny. If I have my freedom to speak my mind, to protest peacefully, and to protect myself and my freedom, democracy can carry on. Democracy does not commit suicide, it is murdered by totalitarianism, and is reborn with the blood of tyrants.
Well history has shown democracy can continue to exist and thrive. Great Britain has carried democratic principles for 350 years, the US a little over 200. Australia and number of other countries are well into their second century. But is not just a democratic process that keeps it alive. The real strength comes from the institutions around it. If a tyrant, dictator etc attempts to gain control of government what are the defenses in place to defeat the person. A government oversteps the bounds of its constitution, what recourse has a citizen. Answering these questions points to true strength in a democracy
Primarly , democracy is the power of people . people control it & people strive for it when it becomes in danger. I contemplate that democracy has a weaker basis which can let it be under control of tyrans & dictators ,etc in particular and its opponents in general . Now ,if democracy is good which is the standard that can be used to determine its value ?
The question is the power of people. I prefer a society in which all people can decide all questions of the country. It's true that this option sometimes is difficult because the people can vote a populist laws. This is the problem of democracy, but the people is responsible of her decisions and if the people decide a bad election is their (our) problem and the next time will decide being more responsible. The consequences are important, and normally the people forgot that the freedom include the consequences. PD: Sorry for my level of English.
A well functioning democracy requires an informed and knowledgeable populace that votes. The reason money talks in our politics is at least partly due to the fact that we are not as informed and knowledgeable as we should be. Plus we do not hold our politicians responsible nor do we abandon those media outlets we deem to be lacking in fairness and objectivity. IOW, it's on us and so far we are failing ourselves and future generations.
To be clear, I don't think John Adams was talking about the 'democratic principles' that exist in the west, I think he was talking about real Democracy, more like what existed for a time in Athens. But even that wasn't a 'pure' Democracy in the sense that people have today. Fewer people were allowed to vote there, and that was a kind of a safeguard. They restricted the right to vote to landowners because they'd have a vested interest. This was to prevent silly stuff, like voting yourself freebies. But they also had a deep-running citizen-army idea. It was the responsibility of the citizens to equip themselves with arms and come to the defense of the city. And their failure is overly criticized. In that time, the Spartans were the best long-term fighting force in the world. They had embarrassing defeats, namely at the hands of Thebes, but when you have that many centuries of warfare your bound to have a hiccup. Anyways, the Athenians fell apart because they were overpowered militarily, not because they had a Democracy. But they had in place safeguards against the commonly cited dangers of a true democracy.
Direct democracy has no disadvantages , yes mistakes will be made but citizens will learn from them Representative democracy is an abomination.
Where is the difference between democracy and totalitarianism? Democracy is just voting on how to split the plunder. Government is evil no matter the specific form since they are all reliant of theft, coercion and violence.
as to some of the reply's here, america is not a Democracy it is a Democratic Republic which is far different. note: loosing militarily is not a failure of the government, it is a failure of the defences. Democracy only really fails due to the fact that it rely's on the rule of the masses and as has been proven repeatedly most of the populus of a nation are ignorant and the mass is often times wrong. as for a democratic republic (aka America) i don't know if this is a problem with all of them but the main problem with america right now is that we are a two party system but a two party system doesn't adequately represent the population this leads to indecision and shutdowns.
not actually sure what your question is?? are you asking like where on the political spectrum is america or like where are we compared to pure democracy?