Non representational democracy is little more than mob-rule.

:rotfl: :lol: :) :-? :huh:


When I first read that, I thought you were kidding sky. Y'know, responding to people's criticism of your views on politics by oversimplifying their view of you.


You're not serious about feudalism, right?

I mean, who exactly is going to run a system like that? How do you make sure that the nobles stay "noble"?

Isn't that why feudalism would work even worse? By the way, capitalism does not assume that reason is the dominating force in men. It assumes that self-interest is the dominating force. Then it attempts to harness that potential.

Capitalism is hard to get right, but you can get very close by limiting government (thus preventing government-industrial complexes, and also government-sanctioned stifling of competition) and by having a as transparent marketplace. As long as entities are competing, they must be efficient or they do not survive.
In short, it takes the "people" factor out of the equation.

In the U.S., people are constantly doing things to eliminate competition. Corporate taxes and increasing startup costs in the form of licensing by agencies like OSHA and the EPA make it hard to start a business. That means less competition.

Many federal tax dollars are wasted in subsidizing large corporations and bailing ineffecient ones out of financial trouble. This policy reduces the consequences they face for failure, and hurts competition.

Furthermore, some campanies, being so much infinetely cleverer than the government, use the state's own regulations against them. Take, for example, oil companies. Some energy industry lobbyists actually supported the bans on drilling in the U.S. In the end, they won because now people are demanding that they drill locally, the government subsidizes their efforts in the name of "energy policy", and they are so large now that they can accquire all the mineral rights and easily navigate the sea of red tape surrounding oil exploitation, thus crowding out any competitors.


Another good argument for capitalism, is that everyone is stuck with it whether they like it or not. The key is how you manage it. Just ask China. They're "communist"(socialist) but they had to create "special economic zones"(places capitalism is allowed) to keep their economy afloat. What a great place, capitalism helps the few and socialism exploits the many.:roll:

Governments are capitalist too. Politicians compete for votes. Often they do unscrupulous things to get them. They also compete for campaign donations, many of which come from businesses that want them to pursue certain policies. I know you know this already, but it's for completeness' sake.

The people that fudge up everything in capitalism are the same people who fudge up everything in government. The trick is to take away their power. Force them to compete. Guarantee them no measure of safety (like terms in office). Have a true democracy, not a representative one.
So they get into business and try to screw the people once they have eliminated the competition. Easy fix. Let the public democratically call for a break-up of that corporation. With policy like that, they can be a monopoly, fine, but if they charge too much for their products or treat their employees poorly, or even if the public is just having a bad day, their monopoly is over.

Of course, the problem with democracy is that people can be stupid. That's okay too. Have a constitution that doesn't let them do things like ban other movements or create trade protection.

Actually, we did this once. Built the most powerful nation the world had ever seen with it. Then we had to go mess with it and ruined it.
Proof that capitalism and democracy work? A whole bunch of people wanted (and still want) to come here. More than ever wanted to go to Germany. More than ever wanted to go to England. More than ever wanted to go to Canada. Or anywhere else for that matter.
That's changing now, as our economy finally begins to collapse under the strain of an unsustainable welfare state.
Even illegal immigrants are beginning to leave.

So, finally, I end my argument by saying that not only is capitalism the best form of economy, it is also the only one we are ever going to get. You can call it socialism or communism or whatever you want, but in the end, people compete, and some lose. The only difference is that in a purely capitalist society(as, in, there is always competition), fewer lose.

Democracy is our best hope for getting as close to that state of "perfect" capitalism as possible. A good constitution that limits government even more than the U.S. constitution is our best hope of keeping that ideal on-track.

And seriously, feudalism?

Ochlocracy, is no where close to a true democracy. It has worked in certain situations, and all of those situations had two things in common, the masses were under educated and illiterate. I think many will agree that a political system getting it's power through violence and intimidation is not a good one to have. Some may argue that all governments have been run this way, and they may have a point, but it's not prevalent, with the "whole world watching."

With the advancement in technology, true democracy is a lot more viable system. I submit that it is more difficult to set an agenda or to advance a cause but it's for the people by the people who only have themselves to blame. The other problem is regional issues, what may be a concern to people that live in a large urban area may not be a concern to rural folks. Those are the major hurdles to implement a true federal democracy. There are many more but I'll save bandwidth.

This is only hypothetical. With common sense, I could see it not working because again, we are dealing with homo sapien sapien. So, you could posit correctly that it is pointless to debate political ideologies, social theories and economic systems. I do it just to get tired enough for a good deep sleep.

I did not choose the country I was born in, but I have chosen to stay.

:up: