cliff@unmvax.UUCP (02/12/85)
>> I sincerely thank you for your realization that at least some >> libertarians are concerned with "what's right and wrong." > > You're welcome. I've met very few people who think of themselves as scourges > of humanity, so I try to be charitable and not provoke flaming. Sometimes > I goof though. (Sorry about my previous note's crack about dictionaries.) Er, by the time you read this reply, you will probably have read my reply to your dictionary article...sort of sorry about that... >>>> What people who rally around the democracy in the u.s. are really saying is >>>> that they are well off and are happy that things worked out the way they >>>> did. >>> And why shouldn't they? Why should they think that they'd be >>> better off and happier under your system? >> >> Why shouldn't they? Because we are not a democracy. The people have much >> less ability to influence our countries policies than we would have in a >> true democracy. Some people even like to pretend that not only are we in a >> democracy, but that our being such a government (which we aren't) somehow >> justifies all the actions of our government. I admit it; at this time I >> prefer >> to be a U.S. citizen than not. I just don't kid myself into believing that >> the >> reason we have National Parks is because we are a "democracy." I don't even >> kid myself into believing we are a democracy. > > For "why shouldn't they", see the following paragraph. I don't see why an > individual would have more effect in a direct democracy than our present > system. Please explain that separately. Here is the brief reason: The more people you have voting, the harder it is for special interests to have control of a vote. An example of this that is between the ratio of congresspeople:u.s. citizens (that we have in our republic) and one:one (that we would have in a democracy) is the New Hampshire state legislature. It is a very large body (maybe third largest congressional body after U.S. legislature and Parliament...I forget) compared to the number of people in the state (when I lived in N.H. there were more cows than people!). NH has some problems, but on the whole it's state government infringes on its inhabitants much less than most state's governments (no broad based tax, inc. income tax is one example, even though there are so many state senators and representatives). Town meetings are quite fun to go to. Much of the voting is done by hand, with people raising little cards to signify their stand. If there is a particular issue you have an adamant opinion on you can talk to the other voters and actually vote on the issue. > Mike Huybensz ...decvax!genrad!mit-eddie!cybvax0!mrh --Cliff