Democracy: Success or Failure

[Whaleboy]

An area on which I am undecided. I know democracy to have major problems yet it seems to be the best system available at the moment (though a technocracy sounds cool). Its also done a lot for us. So on balance? I say a bit of both. Discuss!!!

[Whaleboy]

Damn.. thats supposed to be success or failure. Thought I'd insult your intelligences by pointing that out....

[C0ckney]

'democracy is the worst form of government...except for all the others' - winston churchill

and as for success, well look at democratic countries and then look at those which aren't...

[Dis]

exactly what is a technocracy? I fail to see how radically different that goverment would be.

[Dis]

I think democracy is the best form of goverment.

but it slowly degrades as the citizens stop paying attention to their goverment and become ignorant of the world they live in. They trust the goverment to handle all of their problems for them. Eventually this would lead to trouble, you would think.

[Thorn]

The Matrix is a technocracy.

[Whoha]

Wait about 50 years, and we will know the answer.

[Spiffor]

A bit of both

Success in the meaning that democracies do something that has been historically nearly never heard of: that the rulers do not consider their people as mere tools for their grand schemes. Democracies do respect human rights (although there are always some shadowy corners), and democracies do consider that the rulers are serving the nation, not the other way around.

However, it's a failure in the meaning our modern democracies cannot fulfill the dreams and expectations the Enlightenment had for them. Our modern democracies do not give power to the people. They give power to a political elite the people have the right to keep or oust every now and then. The process of political decision is entirely in the hands of this political caste.
The people is not at the wheel. The people only sets the limits in which the wheel should be stirred.

[Dis]

Originally posted by Thorn
The Matrix is a technocracy.

the Matrix isn't real

[Spiffor]

Diss:
Technocracy is a regime where unelected people get to power through passing tests. What is required is not being elected by the people, but to have the skills deemed necessary to rule a country.

Technocracy is not necessarily a police state. As a matter of fact, the only blatant technocracy that I'm aware of (the EU) is stringent on human rights. It simply doesn't associate the people at all in the political process. The actors of the political process are those the most skilled for it, according to their view.

[Dis]

sounds elitist to me

[C0ckney]

the EU is the best arguement against a technocracy i can think of

[Spiffor]

Originally posted by Dissident
sounds elitist to me

you bet.

But maybe whaleboy defines "technocracy" differently, a system that concentrates heavily on technology, rather than my understanding that lies on the techné (know-how)

[Spiffor]

Originally posted by C0ckney
the EU is the best arguement against a technocracy i can think of

That's because it's not a pure technocracy though.

The member-states are constantly bickering and take years to agree on what was fundamentally the proposal of the technocrats, and there's still the Parliament that messes things up even more

[Sava]

democracy

some forms of it are better than others, however... I think Canada's form of Democracy is better than America's. Don't give me that Republic BS, a Republic is still representative democracy.