Thank you (I'm gathering data for a class paper).
Thank you (I'm gathering data for a class paper).
Ahh, but what do you mean by "force democracy"? Take a look at the World Values Survey, there is virtually no country whose inhabitants do not want democracy. How can you force democracy on people who want it?
It is only the elites who run the countries who dont want democracy, but why are their views taken as being synonymous with those of the country?
Better to talk about international intervention imposing democracy rather than "forced" democracy.
Thanks!
Parochial Boy wrote:
Ahh, but what do you mean by "force democracy"? Take a look at the World Values Survey, there is virtually no country whose inhabitants do not want democracy. How can you force democracy on people who want it?
Everyone wants to know God, as well. But when you come with your religion, then that's a different story.
deleuze wrote:
Everyone wants to know God, as well. But when you come with your religion, then that's a different story.
Is there some point you are trying to make? Or was that as random as it appears at first glance?
Just throwing in an example: Democracy was forced upon Germany and it worked out great.
Separate But Equal is also a form of Democracy. It should be instituted in America. I'd like to have genetic admissions tests given for charter communities. The communities would freely choose the genetic haplogroups and characteristics it admits. The communties could be small housing developments or as large as an entire city.
What the heck wrote:
Is there some point you are trying to make? Or was that as random as it appears at first glance?
Sorry. It is easy to want "democracy." But the concept of democracy is pretty much as vague and inscrutable as the concept of God. The difficulty is in who gets to define the term; i.e. write the 'religion' of democracy.
As with the concept of God, many many things are done in the name of democracy. The term has been used for so many different purposes that its practical meaning has been reduced to something like "the political system that I prefer."
Not sure if that's clear, but I'll put the point even more strongly (probably too strongly): Democracy is the religion of the 21st century. Everyone believes it's true. They are willing to fight to the death on behalf of it, and no one really knows what it means.
It's not even a good idea to have a democracy in America. The correct form of government is a constitutional republic, not a democracy.
dsffdsfasdeeaf wrote:
It's not even a good idea to have a democracy in America. The correct form of government is a constitutional republic, not a democracy.
See, it begins. If the thread has legs, I predict the next umpteen posts of the thread will be wrangling over the true definition of democracy on behalf of some intuition about the correct political ideology.
I don't know wrote:
Just throwing in an example: Democracy was forced upon Germany and it worked out great.
On the other hand, it was forced on the South and the results haven't been as grand.
I don't know wrote:
Just throwing in an example: Democracy was forced upon Germany and it worked out great.
It worked out great the second time it was tried. The first time... not so much.
Along the lines of this topic....
I listen to Hannity (for brief periods, my masochism has limits) and he is constantly railing against the "arab spring" and the Muslim Brotherhood. He does not seem to realize that a legitimately elected democratic govt might possibly not have the same sort of structure laws as the US. If the elections are legit and they chose to live by whacked out Sharia law that is their prerogative.
Not a good idea to force anything, including AMERICAN styled democracy on cultures that are our polar opposites. A hybrid type of democracy incorporating their customs and western ideals may work. The majority may want to gain some freedoms, such as females attending school but don't expect to see G-string bikinis on the beaches.
A Priori wrote:
Palestine has already had several internationally certified democratic elections and the W Bush Regime and Obama Regime has failed to recognize.
Hope this helps.
Are you referring to those sorry terrorists Hamas? Because the Bush administration recognized them.
random a hole wrote:
If the elections are legit and they chose to live by whacked out Sharia law that is their prerogative.
No it isn't. Nobody has the right to force Sharia law on anyone else regardless of the outcome of an election. A majority vote is not an epistemological validation of an idea.
FYI, the US is NOT a democracy it is a Constitutional Republic.
"obama is also supports....."
What?
Too easy! wrote:
FYI, the US is NOT a democracy it is a Constitutional Republic.
Correction: the US is SUPPOSED to be a Constitutional Republic, but collapsed into democracy a long time ago.
In the country's current state of total lawlessness, the government will do ANYTHING as long as it is sanctioned by a majority vote.
asdfdfsa wrote:
Thank you (I'm gathering data for a class paper).
First you have to define what a "good idea" is. Our (USA's) assumption about promoting (a gentler word than "force")democracy in a country which has had little or none is that a democratic government will be relatively friendly to our interests. That opens a big can of worms.
Will that be the case? History suggests it frequently won't and we end up with situations like the one in Chile where we end up assassinating a democratically elected president who was not willing to promote our interests. Is it a good idea to promote democracy in a place where the democratic government may be hostile to us? Certainly. the State Department recognizes dilemma this because we've propped up loads and loads of fascists who are friendly to our interests even if it's not in the best interests of their constituents to be that way..
I think the answer to whether it's a good idea in such situations often depends on whose perspective you're taking. Our relationships with places like Egypt and Saudi Arabia were/are more workable with a friendly monarch or dictator in place than they would be with a democratically elected anti-Israel government in place.
If I were writing this paper I'd spend a while defining "good idea."