Quote:
Originally Posted by Platapus
I work as an Election Official during the elections. I get to meet an "interesting" cross section of our citizens at the polling location. After the election, I often question the logic of universal suffrage.
It is a great concept, but do we really really really want every one to be able to vote?. In a democratically elected government, alas, the answer is, unfortunately yes.
There should not be a poll tax, but a poll test.  |
Preaching this since years. In principle - and ignoring the problem of how to realsie that - one should need to qualify and prove one's competence to vote. and ion theory it should also made sure that people vote for this or that party not for idiotic motives like family tradition or long-held habits (this forms the relative majority of voters!), but for fact-oriented weighing of the püarty'S/politician'S acts in the last legislation period. Which means that somebody wnating to vote must prove his comprehensive knowledge and understanding of said record of decisions and acts of the past years.
In principle there should be a quaolification exam like at school, an dthen some bain surgery to get the nasty habit of just voting for a party because one has always voted for that party out of people's head.
We also need a high injection of altruistic thinking that keeps egoism in check.
In ancient athen, democracy did not work too well at times, already, and at some time people were so unsatisfied with the constant corruption of the dmoicratic ideals that they decided to not vote, but to have a lottery. Random chance should made sure that all in all a balance between corrupting ursupators of power, and honest brokers of dmeocratic ideals would be in chgarge at any time. But most oridnary people being chosen for offices did not feel competent to fill said office, and sold their duties to advertsing "professionals". And again - the idea behgind the new mechanism got corrupted like democratic elections are corrupted today, though by different mechanisms.
In the end both the communist utopia and demiocracy are failing for the same reason: the fail to adress the inherent ammount of egoism in man. But both would only function properly if people would act and decide reasonably, altruistically, placing his own self interest second to that of the communal wellbeing. But that is not the case with parties and ost poltiicians, and it is not the case with a large share of voters as well. And that is why democracy is failing us.
It is a system for logically thinkling Vulcans only, not for selfish, greedy, irrational humans.