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Is America any different then Saudi Arabia?

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  • #76
    Originally posted by The Viceroy
    Actually, I think you've hit upon a interesting point Proteus, I have noticed that for some, democracy appears to mean getting your own way all the time, and that somehow when this is not acheived, democratic credentials are brought into question.

    The fact is, No country that I am aware of has a system of government which entitles its people to take a vote on every policy (including going to War) .. You simply get the chance to vote on a government every so often, and you have the opportunity to take into account all the actions of that government when you make your choice at the next election.

    I wonder if a government that only took decisions based on referendum would ever be truelly representative of the people ?
    I think Switzerland has a government with the strongest resemblance to direct democracy.
    A lot of things on local and national level in Switzerland, including new laws seems to be decided by referenda. (including the famous idea, to make it mandatory that goods in Switzerland are transported by train instead of trucks).
    But switzerland is a small country with a very homogenous population (as they have very strict laws concerning immigration),
    so things implemented in switzerland may be more difficult to implement in larger states.
    Tamsin (Lost Girl): "I am the Harbinger of Death. I arrive on winds of blessed air. Air that you no longer deserve."
    Tamsin (Lost Girl): "He has fallen in battle and I must take him to the Einherjar in Valhalla"

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    • #77
      Originally posted by Proteus_MST

      But I agree in theory some form of meritocracy would probably be the best form of government for a state (it often annoys me that people who take over a ministry in germany don´t have to have any qualifications which makes them suited for the job [well, no other qualification than having influence in their party that is ])
      Political appointments to meritocratic positions:

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      • #78
        Originally posted by Geronimo


        maybe because they are taking a different question seriously than the one you are objecting to? The OP has already been clarified to refer to differences between the ability of ordinary citizens to change what their governments do rather than the exceedingly broad and silly question that the thread title suggests.
        It's still a stupid question. Representative Democracy vs Absolute Monarchy. That is not much of a comparison.

        Even if you state the US is an Oligarchy, and Oligarchy of a couple of million is "freer" than an Oligarchy of a couple of thousands.
        If you don't like reality, change it! me
        "Oh no! I am bested!" Drake
        "it is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong" Voltaire
        "Patriotism is a pernecious, psychopathic form of idiocy" George Bernard Shaw

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        • #79
          Originally posted by Odin
          Religiously adhearing to outdated Marxist dogma:
          Knee-jerkingly disapproving of Marxism without knowing anything about it.
          Christianity: The belief that a cosmic Jewish Zombie who was his own father can make you live forever if you symbolically eat his flesh and telepathically tell him you accept him as your master, so he can remove an evil force from your soul that is present in humanity because a rib-woman was convinced by a talking snake to eat from a magical tree...

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          • #80
            Originally posted by Odin
            Religiously adhearing to outdated Marxist dogma:
            If you have a better explanation, I am all ears
            (\__/) 07/07/1937 - Never forget
            (='.'=) "Claims demand evidence; extraordinary claims demand extraordinary evidence." -- Carl Sagan
            (")_(") "Starting the fire from within."

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            • #81
              Overall, Saudi Arabia may have more sand.
              Any studies done on this?
              Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.
              "Hating America is something best left to Mobius. He is an expert Yank hater.
              He also hates Texans and Australians, he does diversify." ~ Braindead

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              • #82
                Re: Is America any different then Saudi Arabia?

                Yes. Next.

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