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 33 |
Is democracy less conducive to long-term thinking as compared to other forms of government, such as monarchy?
By Cody on 2010-03-10 | 6 comments |
| 2 | Isaac | 2010-03-11 | |
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Short-sightedness has always been a problem, in all systems of government, and in all human endeavors, really. Humanity is short-sighted. If humanity had long-term thinking, there would be no war and no hunger.
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| 4 | kino101 | 2010-03-11 | |
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the Romans lasted a while... to lazy to google up the Greeks. Democracy is a flash in the pan, civilization-wise. kinda hard to compare against monarchies(including Mayan, Aztec, Egyptian et al) shogunates or the Ming dynasty. isn't this a bit the same as the rest of the type of conjecture we all have been subject to lately? someone massaging data to fit their personal beliefs, it's all the rage... is it a matter of timing that democracy evolved at the same time of the greatest flowering of civilization, science, technology etc that the world has ever seen? (forget about Atlantis, before our time:)- so maybe there's more to the story Reply to this |
| 3 | enkidu | 2010-03-11 | |
is it a matter of timing that democracy evolved at the same time of the greatest flowering of civilization, science, technology etc that the world has ever seen? (forget about Atlantis, before our time:)- so maybe there's more to the storyAha, chicken and egg :)...did democracy help bootstrap the sudden boom in technology, or did the boom bootstrap democracy? Reply to this |
| 2 | kino101 | 2010-03-11 | |
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imo, capitalism was the catalyst for democracy. (and a
self feeding loop). while socialism is undoubtedly best for the tribe, it doesn't stand a chance against individual greed- separate the individual from the consequences of their actions then the sky's the limit.(snarky attack against corporations, just can't help myself) one has to wonder why/how TPTB back then lost control, the Czars didn't do so well, and yet, what has really changed? using America as an example, seems that only during brief periods did the common cause advance. and who has all the money? could it be, despite democracy, despite what we've all been taught, that the general status quo throughout history still stands. call it by any name, still is a duck...China, Russia, Japan- everywhere, aren't the rulers the same, the power the same? some conditions improved because they had to, where power is absolute the people are slaves. where power isn't absolute the people are wage slaves, where power is dispersed the people waste it. human nature, only a few know how, or wish to wield power...sigh... democracy is the natural evolution from the tribe, if greed is given social support. w/out greed...but then, maybe we'd still be dying from polio, who can tell? ahh, for parallel universes. China isn't democratic(oh, really?), has never and is never likely to be. a bit of an anachronism, or maybe a gaping hole in my theory? Reply to this |
| 3 | Isaac | 2010-03-11 | |
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As for democracy specifically, the first speaker gives an excellent example of the Maeslantkering, build to withstand a storm that might only arrive once in 10,000 years, costing over 660 million euro. On the other hand, the US experience Hurricane Katrina, a once-in-100-years event, and their lack of planning now costs them billions of dollars. Short-sightedness is independent of the system of government.
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| 2 | Ryan | 2010-03-11 | |
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I think that our system of representative democracy (In the US) makes it worse. In the eample of New Orleans and Katrina; the dikes and the water were things that the residents of New Orleans could see, understand, and pressure their representatives accordingly. Things like taxes, however, have got several layers of abstraction between constituents deciding to write letters, and seeing things happen. It's far away, and it's never seen. People would likely not vote to increase their taxes if the increase were to fund the development of water treatment methods because it isn't something that they can see. I think that this is a major problem. People are being asked to elect representatives who will vote on matters that they mostly don't care about. Reply to this |