Editor's note: Ravi Agrawal is the Senior Producer of "Fareed Zakaria GPS." You can follow him on Twitter @RaviAgrawalCNN.
By Ravi Agrawal, CNN
I was browsing through the website of the magazine Foreign Affairs when I came across an article titled “The Present Crisis in Democracy.” The author describes dire times: a world “in a state of hysteria” where an “intoxication of unusual prosperity” was followed by “the harassing uncertainty of the depression.”
From finance boom to housing bust, it reads like a description of inept governance in the last decade.
But it’s not. The article was written in 1934 by Lawrence Lowell, a former president of Harvard University and frequent contributor to Foreign Affairs.
It turns out we’ve always talked about a “crisis in democracy.” A Google search of the phrase throws up articles written not only from the past few years, but from almost every decade of the 20th century.
Lowell began his essay 78 years ago by stating that we have enough examples to estimate democracy’s effectiveness because the extension of suffrage had “reached its limit in several large nations.” He was, of course, ignoring much of the world. At the time, India was undemocratic; it is now the world’s largest democracy. Most of Africa, the Middle East and Asia were yet to fully realize self-determination; that has changed, and is still changing further.
Eight decades later, the world is in a much better position to pass judgment on democracy — although one could argue the prognosis is especially dire. A Gallup poll from September shows that Americans feel a historic negativity toward government, both Democrats and Republicans. A record 81% said they were dissatisfied with the way the country was being governed.
This has already been a year of electoral upheaval. Greece’s George Papandreou and France’s Nicolas Sarkozy have lost their jobs. Italy’s Silvio Berlusconi was forced out in November. Incumbents the world over have record-low approval ratings. Many countries head to polls this year; more churn is inevitable.
But isn’t that democracy’s work at its finest? Is churn not a vital ingredient in refreshing good governance?
History suggests it is. But the difference right now is a sense of despair over the tools that democracy offers, that it’s proving incapable of solving the current fiscal crisis. In my previous article on this series, I wrote of how populism can often stand in the way of solving economic problems. From Nigeria’s stalled economic reforms to India’s spluttering growth, democratic answers seem hard to come by. The euro’s problems seem almost intractable; and in the U.S., investors nervously await another partisan battle over the debt ceiling.
Perhaps the strongest case against democracy comes out of Italy. As Fareed Zakaria put it in an interview last week with Prime Minister Mario Monti, democracy had to be “suspended” to solve Italy’s troubles. Is the fact that Italy had to turn to an unelected economist not the surest sign that Western democracy is truly in crisis?
Monti’s answer is instructive.
“The reason why democracies are very poor these days,” he said, “is that democracies, like markets, have become much too short-term.
“The combination of very important media, of frequent elections, of even social networks which tend to polarize people towards more extreme positions, has the consequence that in democracies, politicians… tend to embark on solutions that imply short-term costs and longer-term benefits with great reluctance, and only when they are faced with an actual huge crisis.”
So it seems the answer is this: Democracies need an absolute power who forces us to eat our vegetables.
What of models only loosely based on representative democracy? Monti says the Chinese alternative is an option, because it projects itself and its decisions into the longer term. But it comes at a cost.
“It would be a very sad conclusion if we were to need to reduce the rate of democracy in order to get better government,” Monti said.
China, of course, has its own troubles, with as many as 500 protests taking place every day around the country.
During the recent scandal over the ouster of Bo Xilai, the disgraced party secretary from Chongqing, a little-known fact emerged. Beijing had not revealed its income gap statistics in more than a decade. But Bo let them slip, telling reporters in March that China’s gini coefficient had exceeded 0.46. (The index measures inequality: 0 indicates everyone is perfectly equal, and 1 indicates one person has all the wealth; anything above 0.4 is considered dangerously high, creating conditions ripe for social unrest.)
Democracy has forever been messy. The solution to its crises is more of the same medicine: more dialogue, more debate, more democracy. Perhaps the greatest endorsement of people power comes from those who don’t have it. The revolutions of the Arab Spring show that millions of people who have experienced autocracies or dictatorships yearn for the freedoms that come with the right to vote. More than anyone else, they know that the alternative is far worse.
Winston Churchill had it right, all the way back in 1947: “Democracy is the worst form of government … except for all the others.”
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The problem is universal suffrage. When the largest voting bloc is made up of ignorant, uneducated proles, problems are bound to arise. The Roman Republic had a much better system of governance.
DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA IS FOR SALE. THE MORE MONEY YOU HAVE THE MORE YOU CAN BUY!!!
Yes, money can corrupt and buy popularity. Winston Churchll was right that “Democracy is the worst form of government...." According to Aristotle democracy originally meant something like 'mob rule' or 'dictatorship of the proletariat'. The ancient Greek word "demokratia" was ambiguous and meant literally 'people-power'. It was arguable who were the people to whom the power belonged. Was it all the people, the masses, who were seen as the common herd, the social inferiors, or only some of the duly qualified citizens, the rich and aristocratic elite? The Founding Fathers never trusted the masses, who were seen as easily manipulated. As long as human kind exists, people are instrumentalised by populists who want to gain politcal benefits.
The buy out Govt and it is not by the Corp business that everyone is so afraid of. It is primarly the vote of the "people" voting to give themselves what the other guy's got. Anyone bothering to read a little history knows a little history is that this is what the Founding Fathers most feared.
Couldn't have said it better. And irrespective of party lines, they are all slaves to the big corporations. Corporations aren't giving millions to Romney or Obama because they love them – they are doing it because they expect something in return. And the good of big corporations is quite often in contrast with the good of the people.
Funny how "money" Marx and Engels were regarding their thoughts on capitalism. But I'm not laughing or smiling; I'm angry that civilization has become barely more than a runaway train wreck unfolding right in front of my eyes, and the only solution, seemingly, is to move to a new planet and start all over. Ha!
@Weldon Gebhard:
Your view is a very polarized one – the right wingers things Obama is for welfare and socialism while Romney is for Capitalism and free enterprise. I could mount significant arguments in favor of – and against – both sides. But in the end, they both serve the same master. The problem is, your vote is an illusion. The candidates which will appear on the ballot in your state were strictly chosen by the Corporations. Money buys elections. Money gets media attention. Money gets candidates invited to the debates. And the money isn't in the form of $3 donations from the people – it's in the form of millions contributed by corporations or individual billionaires who have their own agenda and political motivation. There are actually several other parties and potential candidates that you never hear about because they won't get the funding from corporations. Some of these candidates are middle class people like most of us, who actually shop for their own groceries, count on that next paycheck, and actually have qualifications far beyond that of Romney or Obama. And most importantly, they can actually relate to the people. But that is the last thing corporations want. The fix is to equalize the election process. Take money out of the equation. Candidates receive public funding in a fixed amount – and that is absolutely ALL they can spend – period. Each candidate receives the same amount. Now you start to equalize the process. Unfortunately, our own Supreme court is nothing but an extension of Congress, and is equally politically motivated....they aren't going to "bite the hand that feeds them".
the United States is a REPUBLIC (to the Republic, for which it stands, one nation...) People think we are just a Democracy, IE where the mob rules. This is incorrect! Our founding fathers KNEW that was not the way to go, ergo, they created a REPUBLIC of STATES. The root of our problem, as is in any country, government, situation is abuse of power. Canadites might start out with good intentions but once they are in office, they soon learn the real game. Money changes hands, power is distributed behind closed doors and the common man has no say in any of it. The only thing you can hope for is your country is rich enough to live comfortably. In the USA, our government is flush with cash (no we are not broke) therefore they can ALLOW the citizens to keep a lot of their paychecks and buy cool stuff like ipods, tvs and food. That is why we "think" we are free. If something happened and the government needed your money, stuff, land, whatever, they would take it and there would be nothing you could do.
Many of her own citizens either forget or are unaware that the United States of America is NOT a democracy. It is a republic. It is a drastic and very significant difference.
Democracy in America is a LIE it doesn't exist. We are a republic not no stupid democracy.
That is true for most countries and political systems including: The Soviet Union, China, India, US, the list goes on.
In the US only 50% to 60% vote. This means only 30% of the voters decide.
Blaming corporations is intellectually lazy.The truth is that ALL systems are flawed. Churchill is hinting at that in the quote. If problem was simply corporations and money then why do we see corruption and evil in socialist countries where there are no corporations? It wasn’t corporations who brought Hitler, Mao, and Pol Pot to power. It was not corporations that conceived the idea of death camps and gulags. It was not corporations that caused the Russian and Chinese famines or the Rwandan Genocide. Corporations don’t murder 16,500 Americans or commit 1.4 MILLION acts of violent crime each year.
All of the aforementioned crimes share a common source–the people.
We are the cause of our discontent. We are the source of our ills. I do not mean just Americans, but everyone in every country. There has never existed a perfect ideology, country, or community. There never will be such a place.
For all those insisting that the US is a republic and not a democracy: republic in Latin means the same as democracy in Greek, i.e. 'the power (or authority) of people'.
Yep! In my lifetime Democracy in America is being able to go and push a lever/vote. Otherwise keep your mouth shut and do what you told.
hettlingen – Churchills quote was "Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time." The last part you left out is very telling.
The United States is a Republic, not a Democracy, dumb dumb.
Let's not spin Churchill's quote to make it mean the opposite of what he really said. What Churchill said was "Democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time. ", meaning democracy is the best form of government available in his view.
94% of the time the candidate who raises the most money wins the election. That's not democracy, it's an auction.
Of course the United States is a republic, so is the majority of the world. All "republic" means these days is that you don't have a monarch.
Fortunately, the United States is not a Democracy, so these issues would not apply.
We do not live in a democracy people. We live in a republic. When that republic is ran without the influence of corporations and banks, you do not have these issues. Democracy is two wolves and a sheep voting for what is for dinner.
The school of thought that seems to be prevelant today is that all countries deserve to be a democracy. Nothing could be further from the truth. Most, if not all African countries were better off as colonies. Africans are incabable of governing themselves as are other poorly educated countries. Those that do opt for democracy end up being run by a few, corrupt educated people. Don't tell me the family in the African bush has a life changing experience because they now live in a "democracy". Ignorance can never be the engine that drives these countries.
The problem is not democracy, it's greed and ignorance. Stop confusing democracy with capitalism. Don't confuse socialism with totalitarianism. We need economic reform that embraces all of society, not one that is dictated by the wealthy
A republic IS a form of a democracry. We elect representatives dont we? There are no direct democracies simply because they dont function effectively.
yes the US is democracy. we are a representational democracy. you elect representatives dont you? quit listening to Fox its making you dumb
Hate to jump on the bandwagon, but it is pretty messed up when groups like Goldman Sachs are donating to BOTH sides of the election. I mean, seriously, what is that if not a bribe?
@j. von hettlingen
I really enjoyed reading your quotes and definitions of democracy over its history. I was especially interested in the ambiguous Greek meaning, "People power" could reference slaves who would undoubtedly have a master or a heard that would change according to the whims of the group. I think that is its ambiguity is its strength and hints to a need for balance between the two meanings. People or herd need a leader and they need direction. They need a person who can command them and inspire them to a cause and they want one. Obama succeeded in doing this in is previous election though his promises and words have fallen short. That said people are not a commodity they are not to be traded they are a resource to be used but not abused. If you squander a resource away you only hurt yourself. If you intend to sell lumber and you cut down all your trees and do not replant you will have no lumber when you need it even for your personal use. Currently congress is in a herd mentality and hasno direction as they no longer have followers and everyone thinks themselves the leader. Congress and our society also suffer from an inability to reason outside of themselves and compromise. Compromise is often viewed as a weakness but i believe it to be a strength especially when an argument is presented that makes you think. many time in our society people only choose to stay at their individual extremes.
As I see it in the US democratic republic we have lost sight of the democratic balance that were carefully crafted and why. The balance has been slid to far and too obviously to the master that is not the masses and the master is not easy to identify. Comander-in-chief; I think Politicians for the most part feign respect for the President in public but believe in the end they are equals and they as part of their career are possibly aiming for a shot at that office. Representation is not for the people anymore. The political system is under invasion from the hierarchy of Big Business's. The owners huddled in their towering glass castles surrounded by their conspiring CEO's that lord over sections of the company for them. Each Ceo with Knights that champion their personal goals, causes, and advancement. The Big Business's buy the vote through media and news outlets. They tout their champions and bend the masses to their will and the politician as well. These politicians will compete and fight and deadlock for their paydays in campaign contributions so the cycle can begin again and they can reach even higher.
@blamegame and Mattski, I haven't misjudged Winston Churchill. He was never an advocate for grassroots democracy, because he was deep inside an elitist and believed in leadership. During World War II he knew how important it was that the British people had to be kept united and the impression they got of their leader was crucial. He was somehow popular without being populist.
@rcflyer8410:
Well Said! I agree completely and as an RC Pilot too I like your handle. What do you fly?
Universal suffrage? How about people like you shouldn't be allowed to vote?
Or, people like yourself. He's absolutely correct; mob rule is fine, PROVIDED the mob is educated and correctly informed. Since the media gatekeepers have eschewed their duty, we have everyone and their dog able to vote, responding to lies and misinformation from the major parties.
And you defend that system?
FREEDOM is vital. Democracy is not.
rich quit getting all your info from fox. yes the US is democracy. we are a representational democracy. you elect representatives dont you? quit listening to Fox its making you dumb
By all means, let's model our government on a civilization that no longer exists. That guarantees our future.
Actually Doc, we did model our system of governance on those of civilizations that no longer exist.
And to the REPUBLIC for which it stands one nation UNDER GOD
that "under god" crap was added a hundred and several years after the original. It is meaningless and should be struck.
Which one?
1892: "I pledge allegiance to my flag and the republic for which it stands: one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all."
1954: "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
72 years after the pledge was first made the phrase "under God" was added. It was original made by a Christian named Francis Bellamy who was also a socialist.
The "it" in the last sentence I wrote was to mean the original 1892 pledge was wrote by a Christian socialist. Not the updated 1954 one.
"Under God" brought to you by McCarthyism in all its grand witch hunting nuttiness. It is stunning how people grab onto sound bites (I can be guilty of it as well) but do not know the real history.
I had a similar thought when reading the article. In principle everyone having a vote is great. Unfortunately, for a democracy, whether direct or representative, to be effective, voters need to be well educated, worldly, and see beyond the moment and themselves. In America, we have made matters worse by developing a two party, winner take all type of system, turning governance into a sport, which in turn makes discussion, debate, and decisions more emotional and less thoughtful.
Want a better democracy? Increase education and exposure.
While you are fundamentally right, I do believe there are ways to design a system that are far better at representing a people than the one we have developed, and I think making some of these changes can at least compensate for some of the ignorant. For example why do we need to only have 2 parties? Why not have a House of Representatives that truly represents the people with proportional representation? How can "free speech" be quantified: i.e. how can someone have "more" free speech than someone else, and by extension, how can "money" be equated to free speech if someone can always have more money that someone else?
Spot on. Democracy is a great platform. However, It is only as great as voters' intelligence. As a society is "dumbing" down as whole, results are can already be seen.
The only thing wrong with democracy is when politicians bribe the voters with other peoples money.
This is not so much a crisis of democracy, but one of a capitalist economy that is prone to boom/bust cycles and no control over the act of explotation.
Plato stated that democracy, the rule of the crowd, was a stepping stone. An inadequate long term solution. He theorized that the crowd did not always not what was best for it. So he surmised that the logical successor was a noocracy, the rule of the wise. Though this theory was highly criticized, stating Plato wanted to instate "Philosopher Kings."
The problem is that, even with the wisest among us, we still lack knowledge either individually or collectively. Our understanding is limited and our ultimate power is finite. History screams for a ruler that knows all things, has power to achieve all things, but wields this authority in a benevolent manner and for the good of the people. God in His mercy has given us even history to point us for our need of Him.
That is why The United States of America is a:
Federalist
Representative
Republic
We are NOT a Democracy, nor are we a Republic.
The United States is by definition a representative democracy and a federal republic, so you're wrong on both counts. A representative democracy in its own right is form of democracy, though not direct, and also a form of a republic, meaning just that it's a non-monarchy governing body where the people have some say.
Noocrat – LOL – YOU failed US Civics. The US is a Federalist, Representative, Republic. Nothing more, nothing less. Our founding fathers setup our form of government the way they did for a reason. Originally the Federal Government was NOT supposed to organize and fund a standing Army. That was to be the responsibilty of The States (State Militia), but the Federal Government could call on those State Militias in time of need to defend the country. They did NOT want a standing Army because that gave too much power to a central government which they fought so hard to seperate from.
It is so disgusting how our public school system has dumbed down this country.
furthermore NOOCRAT – Originally the Vice President was the person who came in second during the Presidential Election, this was important because the Vice President is the deciding vote in the Senate (and Senators were originally appointed by The State Governors), and ONLY the House of Representatives were elected by the populous. This is why we are NOT truely a REPUBLIC, we have TWO houses, not ONE.
And originally only land owners were allowed to vote... that would certainly change things during elections now wouldn't it?
Yea, and where are they today?
Problem is that people who dont offer anything to civilization are breeding uncontrollably and because they are sentient beings they feel it is their right to be given something.
Democracy... republic... communism.... socialism... these are all just words. If you truly live by these words, then you are already brainwashed as a sheep. You look at a family from a communist state, socialist state, and a republic and they are essentially all the same.
Not really true. Some of the biggest enemies of our government today are the most educated and wealthy. They abuse it for their own ends, and they "educate" their followers to elect them to power. Intelligence is not correlated with compassion and morals. Education is to a degree, but it's experience that really makes people rule well, experience seeing pristine nature, of seeing economic prosperity through cooperation rather than cannibalism, as we have now. Rome was far weaker and eventually fell under the leadership of a single monarch who was wealthy and had the most education that Rome had to offer.
right on! democracy fails when the voters don't know what they're voting for.
What an arrogant statement. By this, I presume you fancy yourself to be quite well educated and better suited for tackling the world's problems. That position is like that of a dictator, and because of that, you should never hold any power, for truly, your loathsome opinion of the average person is a sure sign you are indeed a terrible person. Good luck with all your hatred and ill will, as it so becomes you, and so the people around you see it, and they do not love you, not even your best friend.
Democracy and representative government aren't the problem. The problem is poorly educated and uninformed voters.
It's capitalism, not democracy that is the cause of the crisis.
Peoples think capitalism is about profit. It's not, but wall street peoples and corporate peoples and some billionaires immigrating to Singapore thing money is the goal.
What we lack is new legistlation governing the use of money.
Capitalism true definition is free trade. The absence of monopoly. I do not believe in the invisible hand theory. This always lead to monopoly and eventualy dictatorship (because money is power)
Money is the ultimate trade good. it must not be allowed to be monopolised. Do something about it. This means laws and mecanism to resolve endless billionarism as a disease of the current civilisation. It's really hard for billionaires to loose money. Statistics works for them. Have a diverse portfolio and you are safe.
At the same time it's verry hard for peoples born at the bottom level to go up. You would want to drag money from the top and reinvest it forcibly at the bottom. But not as free beer. Education as a prime focus. Help for penilless peoples with great idea to become entrepreuneurs, matching them with experienced mentors. Making sure everyone got homes and food.
Homelessness and starving and lack of education are unacceptable at our level of civilisation
"The Roman Republic had a much better system of governance."
Which time frame? I think they tried them all at one point or another. And you are right. All those darn human beings getting in the way of progress. It is very frustrating.
Mr. Agrawai is asking the wrong question. Human freedom is in crisis not democracy.
This a million times. It has nothing whatsoever to do with democracy. Is capitalism coming to its end? I sure hope so. Consumerism? Ditto. Corporatism? Ditto again. Lame headline.
I am afraid that Democracy in this country is in jeopardy.
DEMOCRACY IS IN THE POCKET OF THE 1%
Such a stupid comment. The Government is the 1%. They are all rich. We are being led by a man who decries the inequity of wealth, yet secretly loves it. He is also Rich. When we fire him in November he will become even richer and help influence lowering taxes on his money. JOKE.
The Founding Fathers were wealthy men (for the most part) and well educated. Nothing has changed though I sometimes question their education.
You are a silly person – Go smell up some street corner and blame the world and everything on the failure that you are...Maybe you should sell your computer too
LOL!!!! "@Needs_More" actually needs more brains. We are led by a guy who is fairly well off but hardly among the Stinking Rich. You can't be poor and win the presidency, in the current political system it's simply impossible. So – we found the best possible person in the country who is reasonably well-off but who actually has tremendous affinity and sympathy for those who have little or less, having been there himself. He's the epitome of the American Dream, having come from where he did. Too bad you're too bigoted and unintelligent to recognize that.
from the Democrats
We do not have a Democracy in the U.S., we have a Republic. BIG difference. Get educated and learn some history.
That is not true at ALL. We ARE a Democracy! However, we vote on representatives, not on the laws itself. China's a Republic, but they sure as heck aren't a Democracy. A Republic just means representatives of the people decide on the laws, but that doesn't mean the people vote for those representatives. An tyrant can pick a dozen of his relatives to represent the dozen districts or zones or whatever of his nation; that's a Republic but isn't a Democracy.
We're a representative democracy. Some examples of republics are China, Congo, and the former East Germany. They're often dictatorships.
It's semantics. The population votes for leaders that makes decisions. The dictionary defines it as "A system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives."
A popular movement just elected the first black president in the face of a political machine already known to have rigged voting machines and closed polls early, and you want to try to sell a big stinking load of 'democracy has failed' to us? Take it out back and put it on the roses so they will grow, because that's all your bs is good for.
The United States is a REPUBLIC!!!! The US was NEVER a Democracy to begin with!!
Democracy (noun): A system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives.
Some good things are happening around the world in terms of moves towards more democratic governing. Where there is progress there is hope. What troubles me that in the U.S. is that democracy has been receding and so hope is not so bright. We are stuck in ideologies, entrenched systems, and massively complex regulations that enable us to hire just about half the world's lawyers. We have run out of steam. We don't need reform, we need radical thinking that will help us to go back to 1776 and start again. No more political parties, please, no more IRS in its present form, no more DEA and a host of other self serving agencies. No more special interests; only the people's interests. But who will lead us to newness? Certainly not the Republicans or Democrats that are big self serving machines.....Perhaps we, the people, need to get going with revolutionary ideas without the establishment. We have the internet and the advantage of modern technology. Such technology has been revolutionising the Middle East. Why not here?
APATHY!
No one is interested in learning any history to make better informed dicisions.
Battalions of riot police with rubber bullet kisses. Baton courtesy, service with a smile.
Not all Republicans or Democrats serve the special interests. For those that do, it is our fault after all, we voted for them. If you want them gone, vote them out. It is our Government, time to take it back!
Civil War. Weed out the weak, the fat, the lazy, the rich with no courage. Weed out the government.
Perhaps you can run for President and you do not have to be President of the US. Create a nation for us
We don't have a real democracy. Why don't we all vote every week on Sunday on important issues via the internet and our SSN? Then, we can get rid of all of the overpaid congressmen who do a poor job of representing us. Also, we cut cost and get a true democracy without having to raise any taxes.
Sounds great on paper, poor in practice.
@ High Hopes – Because a true Democracy is mob rule (bad) and according to our Founding Fathers is the worst form of government.
It might or might not work, but this is revolutionary thinking.
Not a great way to govern. If we governed like that we would still have slaves, women would still be house moms barefoot and pregnant. The Majority doesn't necessarily make things right. Need a balance approach.
We do not have a Democracy, nor should we ever have a Democracy. We have a Republic. look it up and educate yourselves.
Because Fraud would run rampant and affect us all. The vote would no longer be secret either as it could be tracked to your IP address.
Cool, I'll use your SS and mine both. Hope you don't mind.
No we don't, never did, we have have representative republic...At least know what we are before you make comments. It is only as good as who you vote for, if you don't like who you voted for, vote them out in 2 years or so. If you don't vote, sit down and be quiet...your opinion does not matter
Don't be afraid of change. We now have the ability to give everyone an equal voice in decisions and get democracy correct. We would be getting majority decisions on everything. No more parties that silo us against each other. We could all vote on issues the way we want. Think about all the fat and politics we could get rid of. Think bigger.
Thought the same thing over 20 years ago. These lawyers won't relinquish control and power. So that's Democracy, in the hands of 'lawmakers' and we all must obey them.
Democracy: Noun: A system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives.
IT IS WHEN YOU CAN BUY IT!!!
With our system of legalized bribery, we've certainly lost any semblance of democracy in this country.
DO WE LIVE IN A CORRUPT SYSTEM WHERE MONEY BUYS DEMOCRACY?
The answer is a resounding "yes".
DITTO
Greed has overpowered laws, laws have fallen to protect... Democracy is not followed by laws and human integrity any more; therefore, our best interests have been overlooked...
Democracy in jeopardy? – Uh, Mr. Obama.....you have paved the way for the US to go the way of Greece....
Oh come off it. That's absurd and you know it.
Actually it is very near the truth. Think about it. Our Debt to GDP ratio is alarmingly nearing Greece's. Obama has made things worse with his programs. We are very likely to become the second coming of Greece if we continue spending more than we take in.
Ugh
You, and the single party (tea) system of government that you demand are THE problem.
Period.
As evidenced by the increase in job growth since the last elections and the reduction of Obama programs the Tea Party has done there job very well. We need more of them in office over the Rhinos and Liberals.
So what's your point? The US is screwed?? You sound kind of happy about it.. I notice that the Tea Party seems to be rooting for the downfall of America. Every time the Obama administration does something wrong, the Tea Party is there to say "SEE!! I TOLD YA SO!! NOW WE'RE ALL DOOMED! YAY!!! WE WERE RIGHT!!"
Instead of complaining, why don't you guys do something productive, because right now.. you're like a bunch of back seat drivers.
Sir, you are suffering from the same amnesia that the rest of the right wing Republicans are suffering from. That is you seem to have forgotten that it took the Bush Administration a full 8 years to almost destroy this country morally and economically. I don't want to see that movie again!!!
Scott
These "people" will try to spin anything as anti-President Obama, anti democracy. They will not be detoured from that
road that leads off of a cliff. The question is really not how to convince them, but, rather, what do we DO ABOUT them.
Letting them make a single party government like 1933 Germany or 1917 Russia et. all. will result in the exact same result. They are NOT anything remotely resembling patriotic citizens of the United States.
Obama can't make laws or a budget. That's Congress' job. Congress makes the budget and spends the money. All a president can to is suggest. So tell me again who's leading the country into debt?
NJBob, it is very important to these gop people that we are going the way of Greece. It's an idea they love and will argue about for days("We're Greece, GreeceGreeceGreece and don't say different! I'm plugging my ears, I can't hear you, la la la Greece") because really, what else have they got? The economy is improving, gas prices are dropping, and their candidate is an apple-brained moron.
the United States of America is a Republic... not a Democracy..
Exactly, but no one else here seems to know the difference. Just let them rant. Maybe one or two will remember the Pledge of Alliegance and then look up what a Republic is and how it differs from a Democracy.
Where it matters, we are a democracy. We elect representatives and send them to vote on most issues, because we aren't experts on trade tariffs and crop supports and border disputes and tax bonds. A real republic would just appoint senators and never mind what we thought.
No we're not, we're a Democracy, we just aren't a direct Democracy. A Republic just means people represent the public. A direct Democracy, means the people vote for everything. We're technically a Democratic Republic, or a Republic within a Democracy. China's a Republic but sure as heck isn't a Democracy.
A Republic just means you have people representing the public, hence REpresenting the PUBLIC. You can have people appointed with zero say by the people to "represent" them, if you even want to call it that, and that's a Republic. We pick the people to represent us, which is how we're a Democracy. We're a Republic within a Democracy. There aren't any pure Democracies because societies aren't able to vote on every single thing, which is why we have people representing us. We vote for those people, unlike other countries where representatives are picked with zero say from the people.
To say America isn't a Democracy is like saying Britain isn't a Monarchy.
You are right Devon we are a democracy now. That means the rest of us will separate into a different nation that is a republic. Looks like one side will annihilate the other. So be it!
I'd say we're more of a Republo-democracy.. not a pure republic, but definitely not a pure democracy.. and I'd be willing to concede that we are definitely more Republic than the latter.
But the public does vote.. to a degree the American people have some power to affect change.. albeit a trifle.
I think the founding fathers didn't want stupid people making decisions. So, they inserted stop gaps in the systems (like the electoral college) to keep the uninformaed and uneducated from swaying the direction of congress. You'd think that times would have changed by now.. Unfortunately, they really haven't all that much. The American public are more interested in watching American Idol than fixing a dysfunctional government.
I fear we've hit a chicken & egg paradox in the US: government at all level has become so corrupt that incremental reform is probably not possible (entrenched interests can & do kill any attempts) but I don't know if it's possible to big-bang reboot it w/o plunging us back into the stone ages (mass famine, crime, violence, etc) for a decade or more...
Right, democracy in jeopardy... how exactly? Because economies are looking down? I thought that armies and dictators were threats to democracy. I guess we've killed all those demons and are left with their ghosts to fight like windmills in La Mancha.
How many democracies have really failed? I guess if you look back to the late 1930's democracy did look pretty grim. There was only one left in the whole of Europe... how many are there today?
Democracy is not the "trouble". It's unregulated CAPITALISM. There in lies our current problems! Wall Street makes billions doing what? No value added down there on the street, just take money out of the system and leave us broke!
Unregulated CAPITALISM????????????????????
Please explain.
We all would really like to understand your very weird statement.
If you do not answer, then you are just spouting cr ap.
If capitalism is unregulated, then why are there so many laws and regulations in regards to standards, embezzlement, safety, etc.?
There are no democracies in existence, lots of republics and monarchs and parliaments, but no democracies.
it appears to me that the RICH have placed themselves into that position,by that I mean Democrats.Watch them SMILE.
Interesting, you've applied a widely known Republican stereotype to Democrats.
I am watching you and I cannot understand you.
What I can understand is that you have no idea what you are talking about.
Please explain.
Is our democracy in jeopady? Yes it is! Now the powerful M.I.C.(military-industrial-complex) owns the majority in Congress plus the White House and that's why we're now constantly at war and we spend more and more of our revenue on both the military and foreign aid! We can use a man like Theodore Roosevelt again as he fought special interest groups in his day!
"Our democracy" – whose democracy are you talking about?????????????
What I am not able to understand is how you remember to breathe.
You are the arab islamic as swipe who goe by the many monikers and spouts allah sh ie t.
You also go by George Patton, Rosie, J. Foster Dulles, Joseph McCarthy, Marine 5484, Yacobi, Warren, Patrick-2, Quigley, Willie12345, Vin and you are consistently spouting sh i et in your very feeble attempts at creating more sh i et.
Gee whiz Patrick, aren't you ashamed to spew all that mumbo-jumbo above? You sound like you never got past the 5th grade in school. It seems like you get upset every time someone posts anything intelligent here. Get over it!!!!!!!!
As swipe, all that people have to do is dial this and all the other CNN blogs to see your assigned colour and your previous posts to see that you are notihing but a thieving, lying, arab islamic scu mbag.
What????? you thought you were incognito??????
I D I O T!!!!!!!!!!!
Don't you think you are a bit lousy? Learn to read people better or keep being childish til your last breath.
So Gardener, do you know what is going on?
The reason I ask is that you have made only 1 comment on this whole thread.
Why only this one?
Are you trying to help your daugher?
You know your little girl has been very mischievious.
She goes by the names of John Henry, T-Bone Thakur, Sajjad Sialkoti, Jeremy, Jim Black, MJ, KRM1007, Beefsteak Balaji, Jim Black, Peter Haas and/or James McDonald.
Your little girl is on all the time and she is always spouting jihadist crap.
Are you proud?
Or maybe, you are the muscles from Syria?
What are you?
Your little girl and her girlfiend have on multiple occasions stolen my moniker to post as sinine comments.
The names used by the other little girl are George Patton, Rosie, J.Foster Dulles, Joseph McCarthy, Marine5484, Yacobi, Warren, Quigley, Vin, /willie12345 and/or Patrick-2.
Now, due to their obvious allegiance to Jihadist theology, we tend to disagree on things.
You see, I love my country-with all its faults, and I believe in diversity of thought, culture, religion...
Churchhill: "It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried."
"expect for the others that have been tried".
Unbelieably pathetic.
Greed is destroying democracy all over the world and has taken down America to the point that only the rich are living the American dream and the rest of us are left scrambling just to try and survive. The rich stole our investments from Wall Street (and still are - FACEBOOK) and they stole the huge, long-term investment we had in our homes and you'll die if you get sick and don't have health insurance in the USA - America is no longer land of the free . . . . it's just home of the brave!
Whose greed???????
Democracy is not in crisis nearly as much as humanity. Rather than evolving to become more civilized and humane, mankind is going the other way; returning to a barbaric state of thousands or tens of thousands of years ago.
Ardent supporter of Democracy will soon comprehend that government should have authority over people behaviour . Without Islamic version of Democracy , no system can solve it . Socio cultural evolution will let us see that next version of Human government is !
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA IS NOT A DEMOCRACY.....
IT IS A REPUBLIC...
there is a difference...
Duh
We're not actually a republic as much as we are a representative democracy. In a republic, your appointed leaders would vote in your place and you'd pretend to like it..
So the answer is it's a Republic, because that's what they do!!!!!!! Hahahahahahahaha
Whether our government is a "democracy" or a "republic" Jimmmy, the bottom line here is that it's controlled by the M.I.C.(military-industrial-complex) who owns the majority of our politicians! Even Barack Obama kept us in Afghanistan needlessly over the last three years, wasting lives and money along the way! He could have gotten us out of there long ago!
I couldn't agree less. Take Nigeria example; you'll that democracy has done more harm than good. Should Democracy take a break? The other options are unthinkable so we are stuck!
Unfortunately, democracy only works when the citizens work to support it. Now it seems people only work for what is in their own, selfish interests. If they work at all. Democracy cannot survive in that situation. Too bad. Because the other choices are much worse.
I'll be spending the holiday weekend at Walmart, hanging out with the baggers and birthers in the gun dept. We will be comparing knives and discussing the pros and cons of using hollow points. Yyeeeeeeeeehhhhhhaaaaaawwwwww !!
And your whole audience will have 1 set of teeth between them!!!!!!!!!! Hahahahahahaha
we need strong, authoritarian governance. if that means fascism , so be it.
"we need strong, authoritarian governance. if that means fascism , so be it." Good, we're drafting you into the Army and selling your house to make money for the rich. Hope you don't want to 'vote' about that.
I suggest the author check the gini coefficient for the US.
We are compoable to the Chinese and getting worse.
Time for heads to role, we need more equitable distribution.
81% of Americans said they're dissatisfied with the way the country is being governed but of that 81%, how many of them vote Republican? As the saying goes, you lie in the bed you make and you reap what you sow! Then don't complain!
They don't vote Republican because they don't want World War III, nor for the rich to get exponentially richer than they already are.
The 50's and 60's were our strongest economic period because the thinkers and doers were both highly respected. Now the pendulum has swung completely to the thinkers and you end up with corporations laying off millions. Lots of thinking, very little doing.
The 50's and 60's were our strongest economic period because of the manufacturing base we built in the 40's. Envy of the world. Then someone got the bright idea to "outsource" our manufacturing to cheaper locations or a misguided effort to create a "Global Market" and look at the mess we have now. You don't build your neighbor's house if your own house is burning.
NAFTA.......that was the start of our downfall!
Termlimits – that will help stop the "Special Interest" groups.
I hope Democracy is in crisis as that form of government is non-existent in America and would never work – we are a Republic. Learn your political terms before publishing to the masses.
It is not a one for one vote in this country – we have Representatives make decisions for us (hopefully for the better of society).
To be more specific we live in a Representative Democracy which set up as a Republic.
Democracy is most definitely in jeopardy in the U.S. Truthfully the U.S. only became a true democracy in the mid 20th century when finally true suffrage reached the full population (with some small lingering exceptions). But in the last couple of decades there have been a lot of efforts made to subvert democracy and restore the power of the rich and the traditional ruling ethnicities.
That is quite true
Why is this in the "world" section? Pretty sure it's disappearing more and more here in America everyday
Democracy cannot survive overpopulation. Human dignity cannot survive it. Convenience and decency cannot survive it. As you put more and more people onto the world, the value of life not only declines, it disappears. It doesn't matter if someone dies.
Democracy with poor choices is as good as autocracy or all the other types of governance. You are stuck with poor choices!! Poor choices = poor governance. It's at this point that I would say that democracy is at the verge of failing if not already failing. Brilliant leaders are those who are selflessly willing to make decisions that have long term benefits to the Citizens of their country. What we see today are leaders who are content with short term solutions that bring the county back to the same crises so that the country can reelect them to fix the same problems. This is what I mean by poor choices of leaders. Do we have any available responsible choices anymore?
> Brilliant leaders are those who are selflessly willing to make decisions that have long term benefits to the Citizens of their country
Such people will never be elected because believe it or not the population usually doesn;t want to know the truth, cannot handle the truth. So, the people who are truthful are eliminated early in the lection process, prior to the primaries even.
Democracy has been in crisis since the word was invented. It is now on its death bed.
“The problem with quotes on the Internet is that you can't always be sure of their authenticity.” ~ Abraham Lincoln
That would be Honest Abe..???? Hummm and the Internet...OK
"Wait a minute, I'll invent something" ~~~ Ben Franklin
democracy = people's right to choose between two equally bad options.
decision to vote = ennie meinie mo.
difference to your pocket book in terms of taxes caused by the choices offered = < $100/ year
the hoopla over this $100 costs us one year of having to listen to these two candidates campaiginig blowing hundreds of millions.
Democracy works best when the electorate is well educated about the issues and concerns facing them. Today's electorate in America is woefully undereducated, largely because there are so few sources of real and accurate information. The mainstream press (including CNN) specializes in "infotainment" and rarely has any substantial or truly in-depth information about foreign policy, national budget, the true costs of funding (or not funding) priorities like education, infrastructure, medical care, social security, etc. Many sources of "news" information are intentionally distorting the truth or hiding critical facts that make any story complete. When voters actually have very little accurate information, they are easily swayed to vote against their own interests-–which is something we have seen increasingly in every recent election cycle. Until the voters become educated, the process will continue to devolve into less and less of a fair and just system. Eventually, the disparity in opportunities and resource allocation will become so obvious that even the most passive voters will come to understand what has happened--but as they begin to see the true situation, the majority will likely revolt in a bloody revolution that will be horrible for all. History has many examples of this cycle, and we have very little reason to believe that the United States will somehow escape the very sad but obvious conclusion of this recurrent cycle of power and corruption.
There is no geniune debate wherein the truth may come out . Politicians will say / do anything to obtain power, even support Gay marriage.
To support gay marriage, can you imagine?
An arab islamist like you may like litle boys but you would never say so openly.
An honest relationship between two men or women is unbearable.
A S S W I P E!
a self serving relationship, mutual masturbation.
also, very intelligent signoff :/
Grow up, learn some debate skills, and try again.
Looking for political solutions to economic problems caused by resource depletion is kind of like thinking the government can pass legislation that will put more oil back in the ground. The post-war boom period is over, the economic growth that was spurred by the clearing of more land and the discovery of more mineral resources in previously untapped area is over; the planet is pretty much used up. The underlying causes of economic growth, or the lack thereof, are based on real things, like arable land, potable water, natural resources and mineral resources. Capitalist countries that practice planned obsolescence to stimulate short-term economic growth have used them up at a much faster rate than countries that have been practicing conservation and striving for sustainability, but the entire planet is in trouble right now and the only thing politicians of any stripe can do to help is to recognize the problem and face up to it. Unfortunately, American politicians don't seem to want to hear about reality, let alone confront it. According to the Republicans there is enough oil to last forever and burning it won't hurt the planet one bit. All the recent weather disaster are just liberal propaganda.
obama is the biggest threat to democracy .American workers will vote welfare state obama out Nov 2012
If you want to blame any president of being a theat to "democracy" you should blame Bush. It was under his administration of lies and deceit that we lost so many rights. Thanks to Bush/Cheyney you can't even walk down the street without having to worry about the cops harrasing or even searching you for no reason at all. Thanks to Bush/Cheyney you have no rights to a private phone conversation anymore either. Before some nit wit comes on here and says "if you don't have anything to hide, you have nothing to be afraid of".... I am sure the Nazis told the Jews the same thing. Terrorists? We have far more to fear from our own corrupt goverment than any "terrorist".
It’s regrettable our troops died or were wounded in vain to protect our democracy just so incompetent, vile, depraved, decadent politicians can lie, squabble, disgrace their office, support special interests groups, pad their pockets and do nothing to improve the quality of life for all that our troops fought so gallantly for and sacrificed for to preserve a better way of life.©
Democracy is an illusion in this country. Wolfgang Von Goethe put it better than I could ever say it:
None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.
Government is for sale to the highest bidder – a revelation affirmed by out own Supreme Court by allowing Corporations to contribute endless funds to campaigns. Voting is an illusion unto itself – since money buys elections and positions candidates to receive appropriate media attention, Corporations by default determine your options. Yes, you are free to vote for anyone that they present as viable – or in their terms – someone who will "not rock the boat too much". It's not wonder we can't get a decent candidate who stands for the people.
Religious insanity is the other limiting factor. Religion is a means of control – weak minded people blindly follow it, while politicians embrace it and use it as a means of distraction and control. Voltaire put it best:
"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities."
We see this in many forms, but most notably in the suppression of human rights, such as denying gays the right to marriage, which under secular definition is quite simply a legal contract. People are condemned for private decisions which impact nobody else. We put this to vote at the state level, and it wins by majority. Democracy and majority are two very different things. Before the 60's, rights for blacks would have been overwhelmingly shot down by the people. Even today, many southern states would vote it down.
So, long story short – democracy is an illusion.
Cudo's rcflyer8410
Now you are off base. The Southern States are not what they used to be with the entire Rust Belt moving here. Hard to find anyone who's parents were born here and still live here anymore. At last the Yankees are having their way and the South is disappearing.
STFU, not every article is a forum for gay rights, numbnuts.
Well said. Most of the comments arguing "democracy vs republic" are missing the point. If anything the US is a democratic republic, but this is only true "in theory". In practice it is simply a plutocracy.
In theory we have freedom of speech. In practice this means nothing because anything sensible is obliterated by the continual stream of nonsense coming from media sources such as Fox news. It is ironic that during the cold war the Russian government used cencorship and oppression to control free speech but an underground system of distribution of information kept the common citizen more informed than the typical man in the street over here.
Outsdie of places where religious fanatics run the politics, like in Afghanistan, Iran, and Texas, Democracy is doing well. Democracy never looks pretty, so when it is working, many voices are complaining about it, however, the only reason they get to complain, is thanks to the democarcy itself.
Democracy does not guarantee freedom or a voice. That is where we are today without either.
Longer terms, and term limits would make representative government less short sighted. Senate can't look past 18 months to the next elections, so they won't pass a budget (in 3 years no budget!). Time to consider 4 year terms for house, 8 years terms for senate, with 2 term limit serving in each chamber.
I like 4 and 6 with a two term limit
When we can kill people at will with an unmanned drone yet publically abhore assasinations i'd say democracy is failing miserably...
These are not "people" but I understand you care because these are your bretheren.
I may have cared previously but after reading your sh i et, I hate you guys with a passion.
Bring on the drones.
So, we can tell what kind of freedom fighter you would be.
No it's not in a crisis. The rich people have everything under control!!!! Hahahahahahahaha
Only the last 3.5 years and only in America.
Says the idiot that just woke up 3.5 years ago.
The way security is going, I am of the mind that whatever is going on, they will call it democracy. In truth, the electoral system, the lobby system, and campaign finance have to change drastically before I call this anything close to a democracy. The majority vote is overruled and money buys the law. And thats just the tip of the iceburg.
Humanity is in crisis. The erosion of Democracy is just a symptom.
Glad to see this article. We have been propagating for sometime the thesis below as pertains to the "so called" democracy in India.
"Experimental Democracy" has failed in India. An experiment that was being shoved down India's throat by western countries too eager to propagate their own values on a country that was trying to decolonize itself while trying to shed the communist skin of being a Soviet ally. India was thus trapped. What has become evident now is that this "Experimental Democracy" has marginalized the country. The marginalized groups of the country – Dalits and ‘backward’ castes/classes, indigenous ‘tribal’ people and religious minorities have been disenfranchised. "The belief that corruption is the important issue in the country is shared only by the minority living in urban areas and towns who have been beneficiaries of economic liberalization policies mandated by western countries. The most important challenges of Indian society remain as follows: justice, social and economic equality and equal access to certain standards of life for all Indians. “While India seems too eager to please its western masters and put on a progressive and softer face for CNN for public consumption, people see through it. The consequences of this "Band – Aid" approach will be brutal for India geo-politically when it realizes that the GDP statistics that it has been relying to gage its progress has not amounted to much in the long run.
Overpopulation, economic collapse, fear and uncertainty are all but sure fire indications that nations are secretly arming themselves and the low rythmic drum beats and saber rattling thinly veiled in the current events can only mean that war is inevitable and that the human race can no longer sustain itself given Mother Nature is unable to replenish what is taken..
The problem is that there is too much freedom for ultra liberals and anarchists, however, people are afraid to attack the anarchists and ultra liberals because they're afraid of violating freedom of speech. Freedom of speech has it's limits, and governments should enforce those limits.
Hate the Truth
You know, YOU are the reason I cherish the 2nd Amendment. I'm pretty sure I'll need to make use of it before I die, due
to people like yourself. You know, the Germans used a similar doctrine, to yours, in the 30's and 40's. It eventually was
named the Final Solution. I pity my kids and my grandkids.
rcflyer – Obama is for welfare (his mother a former recipient) and other taxpayer funded programs. He's of the belief that he can write the checks and taxpayers have no choice but to cover them. I'm not a complete Romney supporter, but will not vote for Obama. He's skirted the issue of a simple matter of a birth certificate and is phony and unqualified. Since when did this country rely on YouTube kids to elect a President, anyhow? That's how bad things have gotten.
As the character Gordon Gekko asked "You aren't naive enough to think we live in a democracy, are you?"
I won't defend Obama or Romney – as I said, I could launch arguments for and against both of them. But the reality is that millions are unemployed. Millions more are underemployed. The right wing mentality is to better yourself, educate yourself – and you can be just like Romney or the top 1%. First of all, this isn't true – everyone cannot be wealthy – and based on the way our economy is structured, everyone simply cannot support themselves or even get out of poverty. Second, not everyone aspires for that – is being part of the top 1% everyone's dream? Teachers and scientists contribute fare more to this world than the wealthy investors. Being wealthy isn't a crime – and should be encouraged – but the reality is that we are facing a choice – simply accept that "XX" percent of people are going to live in poverty or try to do something about it. Welfare certainly isn't a solution – it just affirms you are poor and living in poverty. Look at the jobs created by Rick Perry – he touted this when he was a candidate. The reality – which is proven fact – is that most of these jobs are very low paying, and many of these people end up being dependent on the government for basic needs, since a low paying job with no benefits doesn't even pay the rent! So, more jobs alone is not the answer. Worker pay has gone down, and corporation profits have peaked. Whether we like it or not, based on any modern day economic structure, some level of socialism is needed...and it's nothing new – it's already here, and most Americans depend on government in one way or the other. The key is how to balance it. It shouldn't be an attack on the wealthy, and it shouldn't be a free handout for people wanting to take advantage of the system. There is a balance to be achieved – a balance of how much corporations and the wealthy contribute, a balance as to what workers are paid, and a balance on key regulations. For example, today, a corporation has no issue sending jobs overseas to save a few bucks – and current policy today encourages that! It's not about taxes – most corporations don't pay anywhere near the so-called standard rate. You could lower their rate to 3% and they would lay off thousands for the 2.99% deal. Too much greed – and policies that support and promote it – that is the heart of the problem. We pay and subsidize corporations in so many ways... Rick Perry encourages larger classroom sizes and forces cuts in education so he can give breaks to big corporations who set up shop in Texas. These companies pay sub standard "poverty" wages. And guess who gets to fill in the rest – yes, government – all so the corporation can pay poverty wages and maximize their profit! Again, about balance.
Well said, but what's the solution?
Well Jim the GOP solution is: Turn all the Old, Sick, Poor, Non-white, Non-christian, Unemployed, and Gay people into slaves. Then whip them until they are Young, Healthy, Rich, White, Christian, Employed, and Straight. Or until they are dead. Then turn them into Soylent Green to feed the military. And lest ye forget........Tax cuts for the rich!!!!!!!
I agree that balance in needed and in my view this equates to regulation to give everyone a level playing field. Economic systems are huge and complex like biological systems that can only exist by having well regulated subsystems. Unfortunately, biology has taken billions of years to evolve this regulation while economic systems have to get it right very soon before the system goes into some sort of collapse.
There will always be discussion about the right way and wrong way to do things, but this debate is preferable to ideological dismissal of government initiatives that are viewed as "socialism" (horrors). More education is needed and perhaps some thoughtful appraisals of other systems outside of the USA. This is complete heresy for many people but it is worth stating....
We have the republicans to thank, they 'decided' that the GOP and the Baptist religion were more important, thus the non-democracy "base".
Too many people are stuck on either "Left" or "Right" and Republican or Democrat politics when the answer is neither and perhaps some of both, and more. Time to imagine what lies beyond if you can.
«No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time»
Winston Churchill on democracy
But, we left the system behind that Churchill was praising.
They set their entire machine against Obama and the popular vote carried him into office, and you think democracy isn't working? What you mean is "my candidate lost so I'm ready to turn commie now."
It is not the will of the people that is creating a crisis, it is the blind and deaf greedy self-centered elected officials that are causing the problems. The tragedy is we trust the promises those fools make when they want to get elected, and every time we get disapointed by the end result. Why would anyone be surprised at this point?
WE are NOT a Democracy!!!!
you are right by God, we are a Democratic Republic.
So now, what is your point?
God, I hope so! Democracy is the worst form of government. Its next to anarchy. "Democracy is two wolves and a sheep voting what is for dinner" – Benjamin Franklin
How sad is it when a majority of the citizens don't even know what kind of Government we have. WE ARE A REPUBLIC NOT A DEMOCRACY!!!
I think democracy is in very much in trouble. A democracy only works when everyone stays involved and is not afraid to stand up to the rich and powerful. When we become complacent, then crooks get elected and make laws that benefit themselves or their friends, and before you know it, the bankers and CEOs own those who goven us. All the laws are suddenly skewed to benenfit the rich and remove taxes from the big corporations. Nothing is ever for the working class except more taxes. We no longer have rights albeit we are people, but corporations have rights and and can put unlimited money to finance their next president and legislature while hiding who they are. This is so far from a democracy it stinks. Now big business owns this country (USA) lock stock and barrel. How we get it back will be hard and I'm sure painful. I can't live under the tyranny of an oligarchy.
me144
You pretty much hit the nail on the proverbial head. The question remains: What are the rest of us going to do about it?
Perhaps we should organize a third party – a Labor Party – not just unions but all labor so we have power to influence laws, create a fair taxation system, fair wages, good working conditions, influence environmental issues that affect us, small business should be included since they have little bargaining power ontheir own. We need our rights restored and we also should request the right to dismantle any corporation who refuses to abide by our oversight laws or tries to waterdown EPA, SEC, FTC, FCC, etc laws that would adversely affect the whole. We don't want to be anti business but we need to ensure big business does not subvert the law to the detriment of what is good for the vast majority of people.
Hey me! Like the rich people would ever let THAT happen!!!!!! Hahahahahahahaha
We stood up, we just couldn't afford to buy any votes.
Definition of Republic Options|Tips
1. [n] a political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them .
We are not a pure democracy but we are a Democratic Republic – meaning we all have the opportunity to elect someone to represent us.
There is not one single Government that exists as a democracy. pick up a book people.
If you want to make a case example of a failure of democracy think about Venezuela
1. Highest oil income in history (oil price more than 10 times in times of Chavez than his predecesors) STILL....
2. Highest inflation in Americas
3. Second highest crime rate after mexico.
4. 150.000 Venezuelans killed during Chavez Reign, more than Iraq/Afhagnistan wars and operation dessert storm all together and that country is not at war.
5. 1.000.000 educated venezuelans have emigrated.
6. Highest corruption and lack of transparency almost in any meassuremnet or poll.
7. Venezuela imports 90% of the things they consume because Chavez detroyed all medium size or large size industries
8. National infraestructure is literally not working including hospitals (Chavez goes to Cuba wghen sick), highways, education lacks in every measure.
Still after a billion of billion dollars in income and a total collapse of the Venezuelan economy, higher than ever rates of poverty, corruption, serivices not running, crimen, Narcos Farc Guerrilla in the Army, Chavez still has around 57% of aceptance...
How you explain that? Because what others above have said. that 60% of the Venezuelans that support Chavez are the poor , ignorant, easily manupulated by a populist tyrant that is destroying his once beautiful country. He gave money at the time of elections and people fall for that trap over and over again.
According to Chavez anything bad that happens in Venezuela is because the U.S none of those millions of Chavez followers think that the U.S have their own problems to keep making Venezuelan lives diificult.
For them Chavez "does npt know" (how a tirant in power for 13 years does not know???) Crime is not Chavez fault or the government fault, Venezuela ia the bridge between Farcs narcoguerrillas and Europe and the United States.
They don;t want to think they want their money in govenment grants called missiones, their beer and their parties. and that what Chavez give them.
IHas Democracy ever NOT been in crisis? Republics have a chance, but Democracies have none. They will inevitably tilt toward tyranny and finally chaos. Without limited government Democracy merely replaces on form of tyranny with another.
Not all democracies are poor. Monti should just look to Italy's neighbor Switzerland or the Scandinavian countries. There are more referendums in Switzerland than any other country. Denmark and Sweden had referendums about the Euro and the people voted no. These countries are probably the closest you can get to grass root democracies and they solve economic problems faster than most.
None of the countries you mentioned are democracies.
You obviously know very little about those countries. The Scandinavian countries have parliaments where a party only needs 2% of the vote to become represented. That is why a small country like Denmark has 8 different parties in the parliament. If the people in those countries lose confidence in a goverment it very easy to kick them out. That is why almost 90% of the voters turn up to vote because they have influence.
parliaments are not democracies.
You have now made it clear you do not know what you are talking about.
The problem with "democracy" is that there are none. The dissatisfaction is because over governments (US, EU, etc.) have siezed power away from the people, and what we are left fighting over cannot improve our lives–at least quickly. We CAN reduce government, Make it more responsive, AND keep strong social services–but our political parties are not brave enough to propose such reform.
Democracy has been tried and failed.
When I was in elementary school they told me our country was based on a democracy like they had in Rome. I remember thinking didn't Rome fail and wondering why no one was asking the question, didn't Rome fall.
yes it did. and your teachers are wrong very wrong we are not set up as a democracy. we are a republic which means rule of law. It really dont take much to be an elementary teacher.
Please add a 'print' button to articles here on GPS.
If you want to have another civil war and the destruction of US destroy the safety nets and see the society unravel
hello what is democracy
Democracy is mob rule, also known as tyranny.
That is what Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin and other dictators called it too before they took over so they could 'save' their country. Democracy has never been the problem and is not now.
Garbage seen on the roads of china and india can be see to proof Hilter and Stalin were corrrect.
It would not be in the US if we actually let people vote and the popular vote counted. The electoral college system allows a few hillbilly states to dictate where the country goes.
Would these 'hillbilly' states be the blue ones or the red ones? One might presume being the descriptive 'hillbilly' is used the reference might be a few southern states and 'too many things' is a beloved liberal democrat.
And Edl is a "hillbilly". Hahahahahahahaha
Free elections may also be in crisis. We are repeatedly told this is what we want in the world. With free electons in a few Arab countries Bin Laden would have won in a landslide. Free elections in Egypt might result in an Islamic state. Free elections in the U.S. gave us Obama.
democracy would work if my vote mattered. But it doesn't.
How does you vote NOT matter?
because it's just one vote.
haha how many votes do you want? you must be a democrat.
Hey me! You vote doesn't count either. Because the rich people control what the elected people do. So if you're poor (like everyone posting here), then your vote doesn't count!!!!!! Hahahahahahaha
Instead of talking about it, do something about it. Thats how our founding fathers found freedom and our Government which they have left behind has gone corrupt and about themselves. If we want change we got to take action. It's the only way. The Government has grown to big and to many corrupt politics in our Government and no matter who you vote for most likely it will all be the same thing just a different face..
sooooo.....violent revolution? I think we will lose considering the US military is the greatest physical force man has come up with so far.
The real question would be will they turn on there fellow citizens? I am quite sure they all wont.
Regardless of the US being a republic or a democracy – it is most definitely in trouble.
So sad to see a once great nation prolific with resourceful, inventive do-it-yourselfers who stood by faith next to the American flag now turning into fa,t lazy, slobs who whine about their fair share instead of going out and earning it.
The surest outcome of a democracy is an Oligarchy. The US is not a democracy for a reason.
But we are still controlled by an Oligarchy. Even if you don't think so. Hahahahahahahaha
Western democracy is based on hindu Judaism, filthy secularism, innovation of hindu santans's, criminal goons follower's of hindu filthy Pharaoh ism as a religion for hindu's ignorant s labeled as hinduism, racism. an insult to true freedom of choice granted by truth absolute with in limit. one has to be a hindu, ignorant to promote hindu, filthy hinduism, racism and be a gentile slave to another hindu, criminal as his god. Western hindu, filthy democracy is hinduism, crime against humanity and truth absolute by hindu Judaism, filthy secularism, jut an other word for hindu filthy pig ism, self center ism.
The recent threat to democracy that I notticed occured durring the last American federal election. The Democrats couldnt decide between Clinton and Obama so they made a deal with one another and changed the leadership selection process to make their nominee unamimous, without allowing the delegates to vote and announce whom their state supported. This in my view was the beginning of the end for America's republican democracy.
Republican democracy? We are not any kind of democracy. we are a republic rule of law.
Yup. Where the rich people control what laws are made! Hahahahahahahahaha
Does Democracy have a problem in Europe? We don't have to look any farther than our front yard for an answer to that one right here in this country. President Muhammed is taking care of that.
With Sen. Richard Lugar’s opponent , Richard Murdock, said, “I have a mindset that says bipartisanship ought to consist of Democrats coming to the Republican point of view” , indicates that the strong Fascist strain in the Republican party is coming out of the shadows. Everyone must think like the Republicans want them to think, or else. Republicans want a one party system, like the Fascists, Nazis and Communists.
AMERICA HAS MORPHED INTO A PLUTOCRACY..........THE DEMOCRACY PART IS JUST A NICE CAMOUFLAGE
I would not know the answer to your question, Mr. Zakariah.
I live under a federalist republic form of government in the United States of America.
"Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education." – Franklin D. Roosevelt
(Representative) Democracy isn't in trouble, per say, it is the crony capitalism that is causing us issues. We have a two party system that owes their work ethics to interest groups, corporations, and $$$. If we take that equation out, that is when our Representative Democracy can take its medicine. But they won't give up that equation without a fight for their power even at the expense of turning everything upside-down. Until that equation is token out, we can only hopefully keep force feeding that medicine so that it goes down.
It always takes a revolution to change power; it will take one to return America to having representation for the people
http://sigcarlfred.blogspot.ca/2006/03/why-i-hate-islam.htmlWednesday, March 22, 2006
Why I Hate Islam
I hate Islam. I hate everything about what passes for Islam and I hate everyone who defends what passes for Islam. I hate Islamic politics, I hate the Islamic 'street' and I hate Islamic fueled bigotry, racism and hate.
I have more than a passing knowledge of Arab Muslim history and culture and I am familiar with current Arab politics. I have visited the region a number of times and consider myself well read and au courrant when discussing Arab affairs.
The reason for my hatred of all things Muslim and Arab extends beyond the obvious. Anyone, anywhere, can decipher Arab behavior for what it is- a reflection and an example of a culture gone bad and a culture that has become morally incestuous. The impotence, ignorance and the indifference the entire Arab world is on display when it comes to dealing with their realities. The behavior is nothing short of a breathtaking view of what happens when even the most basic moralities are co opted by evil. With the help of self serving political and religious leaders, Islamic leaders have conveyed the notion that the situation Arabs find themselves in is because of, a) a 'weakness' in their faith and, b) because they are so superior by virtue of their faith, they have every right to impose at will whatever indignities they see fit at any time. They are victims and they can extract revenge as they see fit.
Notwithstanding all the billions of words written to date and the billions more that have yet to be published, the two reasons referred to are the cause of Arab and Islamic discontent.
My hatred for all things Islamic stems from the truth that one of the people I admire most in the world is a Muslim. After 10 plus years, I can say my friend is the singularly most decent, honest and kindest person I know.
My friend believes in God, without equivocation, and my friend is outraged at yoke that must be borne by true Muslim believers because of the disintegration of Islam. The shame of many- but not all, who go to mosques to pray, cannot be measured. My friend describes an unwritten code and language decent Muslims share, so that they might find each other. They are too frightened to speak freely and they are too frightened to stand up to the bullies that have taken over the mosques and Islamic schools. They are the messengers of those that have redefined Islam.
These evil people are bullies, plain and simple. They are 'gang members' and agents of people in far away places that have an agenda of hate and destruction. In truth, allowing political and religious leaders in the Arab world to redefine Islam is equivalent to allowing gang member inmates to redefine what is America and what are American values.
For Hitler, it was the notion of the uber mensch, the 'pure' Aryan. For the Arabs, it is a romantic vision of a new Caliphate, one where Arabs and Muslims are perceived as righteous leaders, scholars, recognized and catered to by others. These tactics have proved to be very successful. Arab world political and religious leaders keep the chains of tyranny tightly bound- and Arabs, like the German volk, look adoringly at their leaders and say, 'Thank You.'
hindu racist Hitler considered himself to be, what is termed as Brahman in hindu filthy hinduism, racism practiced by hindu's, ignorant s as their faith, no one is more hindu filthy in hinduism racism than hindu's denier of truth absolute from hindered inhuman place on earth called india.
WOw, this article misses the entire point of what is actually eroding our American democracy: MONEY. Money in politics has corrupted our system so far that only the few richest elite and special interests have access to our politicians - the global elite have sided with the banks to enact austerity on the masses, so that they can preserve their precious status quo, meanwhile quality of life for the middle class worldwide stagnates and lowers...........Until MONEY IS LIMITED/CONTROLLED/MONITORED IN POLITICS, NOTHING WILL CHANGE –
My friend is a proud Arab and Muslim- and has lived a life that can only be described as decent, honorable and upright. I would, at a moments notice, trust my friend with my child's life.
What passes for current Arab and Islamic culture has tainted and tarred my friend with a stain that cannot be gotten rid of in this generation- and I am outraged by that truth. In fact, my colleague notes that as long as political and religious leaders keep focusing on the past, nothing will change.
My friend's dreams do not include a new Caliphate. He dreams of new schools and job creation. There are dreams of universities and democracies, debates and free expression for all. The promised water is an illusion, another desert mirage. The region and people are so thirsty for the waters that will never come. I will show no mercy and give no quarter to those who live in that world.
It appears to me that Muslims are the fastest growing segment of world society today. As others are withering away the Muslims seem to be rising again with their contributions as was the case historically when they ruled India and Europe and left behind a legacy of science, art, architecture, culinary et al. One only needs to go to Spain and India to witness this. As immigrants, it is a good thing to be aware of your glorious heritage and be connected with it. The Italian immigrants do it as do the Germans, Polish, Jewish, Hispanic and many other cultures. What really pleasantly surprised me was what I witnessed in the Middle East. A tolerant society that has come so far in a few years. Most importantly providing job and economic opportunities to all, Hindus/Indians, Jews, Christians, Muslims, Europeans, Americans, Africans, South Americans, Chinese, and Russians etc. Never have I witnessed such openness and equal opportunities unless you go back to the times of Muslim rule in India and Spain. My conclusion is that the Muslims get it. They are striving to once again take their leadership role in the world order and take this civilization to its next level of excellence. The climb to success and progress is not a linear curve but a stochastic one. Let us join in wishing our Muslim brethren well and much success in their endeavors. If we can't help them let's not pull the rug from under them
Hitler killed 50 million with bullets and fire. Islam is killing hundreds of millions with tyranny and evil and like Hitler, and what passes for Muslims today, rejoice in the deaths of those they kill.
I watch and listen to my friend suffer, because he is being killed a little bit, every single day, by his own.
That is why I hate Islam.
posted by SC&A at 3/22/2006 07:32:00 PM
hinduism, absurdity of hindu, ignorant from hindered gutter land, artificial country called India, hitler was a hindu, pagan of Egyptian origin and believer of hiduism, racism by faith like hindu, ignorant s of hindered gutter land india, Islam has no room for hindu filthy hinduism, racism, nor a hindu un civilized need to lay his hinduism, criminality on Muslim and Islam..
The founding members of the Abhinav Bharat, which was started in Pune in 2006, also believe that the RSS is not militant enough. Outlook magazine notes that its members were planning to kill top leaders of the RSS for their inability to implement Hindu extremist ideology. The Rashtriya Jagran Manch, also a breakaway group of the RSS founded in 2007, has close links with the Abhinav Bharat.
Based out of Goa, a western state with a substantial number of Christians, the Sanatan Sanstha provides the ideological base for Hindu militant groups. It has close links with the Sri Ram Sene and publishes a periodical, Sanatan Prabhat, which occasionally spews hate against Christians.
All men are created equal, some are more equal then others.
All human are created equal, but hindu's. out laws are never equal to law abiding, hindu's deniers of truth absolute borne in hind, filth of hinduism, denial of truth absolute in line with their hindu stupid god monkey, divided according to cast system of their hinduism, cast system..
Equality in America is measured in your bank account.
http://www.faithfreedom.org/articles/islamic-jihad-articles/sherlock-holmes-and-dr-watson-what-do-iran%e2%80%99s-mullahs-want/
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson: What Do Iran’s Mullahs Want?
Amil Imani
In dealing with the mullahs ruling Iran, what you see is not what you get, and what you hear is not what they mean. Transparency and honesty are not their strong suit. So, we need a first-rate sleuth to see through their smoke-and-mirrors, as well as beyond their twisted tongues into their warped brains.
Who else but Sherlock Holmes can be our man to tell us what the mullahs really want?
The fact of the matter, as far as we can tell, is that the mullahs are waving a big menacing stick over the world’s head—their nuclear program and its ramifications.
The Hindu Dharam Sena has become especially terrifying for Christians in Jabalpur. Between 2006 and 2008, Jabalpur was plagued by at least three anti-Christian attacks every month, according to The Caravan magazine. In the western state of Gujarat and other parts of the country, the Rashtriya Jagran Manch has also violently attacked Christians, according to news website Counter Currents.
Well, we have to start somewhere.
After reading postings by T-Bone Thakur...I retract my comments on this forum as I was ill informed. I now fully support Iran's pusuit of nukes. May the mullahs succeed in their endeavors.
I did not make this statement.
Democracy is for the highest bidder in america since the court decided that coporations can contribute unlimited amounts of money without even puttnig there name on it. so were does that leave the poor working stiffs of american, broke , hungry and on the outside looking in. So the next time someone does something that seems incredulious to you dont be surprised becuae this amerian is sick tired of the cheats, lies and alibi's
Holly Atom
5/23/2012
Today in Baghdad, the Islamic regime and the p5+1 negotiate over compromises which aim to prevent Mullahs from the bomb in return for relief from the western sanctions on their regime. Compromises suit not only the Islamic regime as it needs time to have the bomb, but also the Obama administration which needs to buy time during the 2012 presidential campaign. Nevertheless, Baghdad’s talks are reminiscent of the numerous talks in the past through which the Islamic regime managed to buy time.
In all previous talks, the western key powers tightened in vain the noose, but not enough to halt the nuclear ambitions, whereas Russia and China gained further, hush money, from the Islamic regime to foil any rough sanction on the regime. Meanwhile, all key powers continue turning a blind eye to the human rights violations in Iran. All in all, a devilish bargain with the regime and a trap for democracy and human rights cause in Iran, a trap in which the Iranian people are the victims.
In reality, the ongoing Baghdad`s talks cannot bounce back with an emphatic victory. Such talks do not create more results than many other rounds of similar talks in the past. The West sees the talks as a path to build trust, not to conclude an agreement. In fact, such talks can never serve as an entry point for a long-term détente. Mullahs’ nuclear is not a peaceful project for national interests, but by contrast, it is a dangerous burden on the shoulders of Iranian people who can become the cannon fodders of a foreign pre-emptive war. Mullahs see in their atomic ambitions a “holly” arm for the holly wars against infidels. Iran only serves the occupying force of the Islamic regime as an occupied base and the base is protected by captured Iranians as human shield.
Shiite sect believes in apocalyptic events which precede the reappearance of their Hidden Imam, Mahdi. Holly atom might be understood in this light:
- Before the Imam’s appearance, the people will be reprimanded for their acts of disobedience by a fire that will appear in the sky and a redness that will cover the sky.
- The fire will swallow up both Baghdad and Kufa. People’s blood will cover their destroyed houses. Death will occur amid their people and a fear will come over the people of Iraq from which they will have no rest.
- There will be an insurgence by the Sufyani, a descendent of Abu Sufyan, who was one of the Muhammad’s enemy, along with his son, Muawiya and his Muawiya’s son,Yazid, which starts from Palestine and Jordan, and his reign of tyranny will span the Middle East from Iraq to Egypt.
In such an apocalyptic world, since the main principle of the Mahdi is that he is absolutely guided by God, the Shiite ruling elite, as a part of the divine guidance has nothing of a normal state, it is a God’s selected guidance for the mankind, and its acts are in complete accordance to God’s will. The Shiite Mullahs, who already established a God’s state in Iran, prepare such catastrophic conditions to hasten the reappearance of the Hidden Imam.
Claiming to be breakaway factions of the RSS, new groups with even more extreme ideology are surfacing. The Abhinav Bharat (Pride of India), the Rashtriya Jagran Manch (National Revival Forum), the Sri Ram Sene (Army of god Rama), the Hindu Dharam Sena (Army for Hindu Religion) and the Sanatan Sanstha (Eternal Organization) have launched numerous violent attacks on Christian and Muslim minorities.
The Sri Ram Sene was one of the most active groups that launched a series of attacks on Christians and their property in and around Mangalore city in the southern state of Karnataka in August-September 2008, according to a report, “The Ugly Face of Sangh Parivar,” published by the People’s Union of Civil Liberties (PUCL), in March 2009. In Jabalpur city in the central state of Madhya Pradesh, suspected extremists from the Abhinav Bharat attacked the Rhema Gospel Church on Sept. 28, according to the Global Council of Indian Christians. They had earlier attacked Pastor Sam Oommen and his family in the same city on Aug. 3.
Since the Reappearance is to convert the world population to Islam, the amount of crimes is obviously expected to exceed many times that of jiahdi crimes during the expansion wars of Islam since the inception of the cult. The more crimes committed, the sooner the Imam reappears.
No wonder, especial groups of elite jihadists are now trained in Iran and throughout the world to convert or massively kill non-believers. Right-wing and anti-Semitic groups and sects like Anti-illuminati around the world are orchestrated and fed propaganda materials by Mullah’s parallel organisations called “Mahdaviat” ( related to the Reappearance of Mahdi). Topics covered by them are World Destruction by Judaism-Illuminati- conspiracy, corruption on earth, rule of Dajall ( the Anti-Christ-like figure of Shiite sect, and the idea finally concludes the reappearance of the saviour or Mahdi.
The new IAEA chief reflects the promise of Mullahs allowing IAEA to control military facility at Parchin and all sites suspected to build nuclear arms. He also said the Iranian authorities would allow IAEA verification practices to keep uranium enrichment far below what is needed to build atomic bomb — producing low-grade 5-percent enriched uranium in. Western sources disclosed recently a nuclear facility in Forda, close to Qom. The regime has since expanded the enrichment process at an underground plant at Fordo. Here, the regime works on the refinement of uranium to 20-percent, a grade short of bomb material. Many other sites working on nuclear programme might remain in secret and unseen. Two points are to be revealed on mullahs; nuclear programme:
- Firstly, many hidden places like Tanaz, Forda… might continue enriching uranium; as such a scenario has been permanently revealed since 2003 by the opposition group MKO.
- Secondly, dirty bomb is another suitable weapon in the hands of “Bassijies” (brainwashed mercenaries of the regime), Jihadis and terrorists of the regime around the world.
Dirty bomb is made in small device of conventional explosive materials, TNT, combined with a little radioactive material. Its explosion would destroy a military base, an area of a city or a number of buildings. The worse is the gamma ray, Alfa and Beta particles which cause typical diseases and illness for months or years among civil population after the explosion.
One may add such material to the warhead of rockets or simply throw such devices among “infidels”. In my view, such a dirty bomb under any possible form suits better the holly wars of Shiite elite who prepare the apocalyptic reappearance of their Hidden Imam and who are devoted to defend their “God’s state” against foreign or inner enemy. According to a number of articles, the Islamic regime can be working on this bomb with the help of N. Korea and the international mafia
http://www.faithfreedom.org/articles/islamic-jihad-articles/holly-atom/
New, More Dangerous Hindu Extremist Groups Emerge in India
Christians concerned as rightwing factions splinter to form militant outfits.
PUNE, India, October 29 (CDN) — After more than a decade of severe persecution, India’s Christian minority is growing increasingly concerned over the mushrooming of newer and deadlier Hindu extremist groups.
Gone are the days when Christians had to watch out only for the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council) and its youth wing, Bajrang Dal, which are closely linked with the most influential Hindu extremist umbrella organization, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). With voter support faltering for the RSS’s political wing, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), moderate and extremist sections within the Hindu nationalist movement are blaming each other, and militant splinter groups have emerged.
My goodness...I never realized India was such an extremist society and Hinduism such a cult like group posing so much danger to Christians. We must look into it and CIA should also take note.
Some as swipe arab keeps stealing my moniker.
Please check with your BBs or androids or iphones to see who is making these statements.
The more this moron harasses me, the more I hate Arabs and the more I will keep posting.
Democracy is the civil arena of capitalism vs social reform. Which side are you on, right now? Its okay to change your mind based on current events.
Western Democracy in hindu Judaism, filthy secularism is a crime against humanity and truth absolute based not on human equality but hindu filthy hinduism, racism, not of huaman but of animals.
"hindu Judaism, filthy secularism" are mutually exclusive terms. If you make a concise, valid points, I would be happy to listen.
When a concept does not actually exist, it is not possible for it be in a crisis.
Perhaps, the crisis is that Democracy does not and has never truly existed.
Democratic republics are under attack from religious mystics and from political mystics, both of whom feel that mankind is the self-sacrificing agent of change for some glorious future we will never live to see.
The real problem is laissez-faire Capitalism. It consolidates the wealth so that only the richest of the rich prosper and democracy is up for sale.
Joe Stalin?
Funny how these sycophants for the New World Order only have problems with democracy when the voters start turning on their bankster employers.
Disgraceful.
But drearily predictable.
Democracy is under assault by terrorists. US domestic terrorists marched on Chicago this past weekend and the media gave them too much show. Instead of voting, they shout at police! Instead of voting, they loot a storefront. Instead of voting, they take a crap in your park! Instead of voting they Occupy your property. Instead of voting they resort to violence. They are Occupiers. They are labor unions. They are domestic terrorists. They are against Democracy!
Our founding fathers were against democracy also.
Founding fathers of USA were more educated in truth absolute than hindu's, ignorant s think they were, They did not recognize hinduism, denial of truth absolute, nor they bother to mention hindu Judaism, filthy secularism but declared their truth in truth absolute, with only word they knew, GOD. They rejected hinduism, racism and way of hindu's criminals by only way disassociating them self from hinduism, racism of England, King as god holding both position's of hindu filthy Pharaoh and his hindu filthy pot head priest.
In QUEBEC there is manifestation everyday around 10 000 peoples each days walk on the streets to protest
It makes you wonder why the American news media is not covering it.
I'd say 'democracy' is in trouble everywhere...including the U S A...actually we have a 'democracy' and we have an Empire...when they clash..the Empire wins!! I suspect other democracies have similar conflicts...
Actually we don't have a democracy, we have a Republic.
Only stupid people vote.
Democracy is always in crisis.
Business exists, govt exists. Both are good...we just don't pick good, strong, and moral leaders...we settle for the psychopaths...we get what we deserve.
Yup, in crisis!
Unfortunately in some cases, when this fails it breeds dictatorships, and backwards policy. People tend to go with what they believe works best....In other cases, it breeds civil war.
If the Republicans win and they try to end all the social safty net then Civil War will be the choice. I don't need any of the Government pay outs right now but I will join the struggle of the poor. The rich don't need anymore help.
“Democracy is the worst form of government … except for all the others.” is a paraphrase used by Churchill; it is of a comment by one of the US founding fathers. I think it goes, “Democracy is the worst form of government save all the others.” (Ben Franklin, maybe, but he tended to quote older works)
No Franklin said that "Democracy is two wolves and a sheep voting on supper"
The Nato Summit ended in Chicago without its goals being achieved, but with Pakistan in particular left with a gnawing sense that it was not worth the restoration of Nato supplies solely so that President Asif Zardari could be invited to the summit, where he was unable to cut a dash because, as he was reminded constantly, the Nato supplies had not begun to move. It almost appeared as if the summit was an occasion for the US President, much like a mafia don, to receive allies and let them kiss his hand. President Barack Obama may not belong to an ethnicity that has the mafia in the background, but since he belongs to Chicago, which has a Mafioso tradition personified in Al Capone, and since the summit was held there, the element was strong, particularly as he is up for re-election at the end of the current year. However, the summit did not deliver enough, except for symbolism that had not only Nato members, but also such non-members as were counted as US allies, present.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai was there, having signed a Status of Forces Agreement with the USA that would allow its troops to remain in the country beyond the withdrawal date already set, and reconfirmed by the Senate, of 2014. The US administration wants, probably because it is an election year, to withdraw by 2014. But it also wants to stay beyond then, which it has now got an agreement from the Afghan side to let it do. It wanted to use this as an example to the other Nato members of how they too can continue past the withdrawal date. However, the Nato countries have their individual elections and such important members as France are headed by Presidents, who have fought their election on a withdrawal platform.
The USA was also not successful in getting as many contributions from the members, towards the upkeep of the Afghan army and police, as would make it feel secure about its future. It is no longer able to pick up the bill singlehanded, but if the Obama administration is facing budgetary woes because of a financial crisis – that same crisis is also putting pressure on other Nato governments, some of which find it difficult to stay afloat, let alone splurge on spending to further American goals – the USA is once again trying to have someone else pay the cost of peace, just as it tried to fight the war with someone else’s money.
The problem is that the USA set itself too many tasks in Afghanistan that were impossible, and the summit should have made it realise that this was so. First, the USA wants the country settled in a way that the best interests of its corporations, especially oil companies, are protected. That implies that if the Taliban are to make a comeback, they have to be part of an arrangement in which American paramountcy remains, as now, unquestioned. Towards this end, the army and police remain important tools. Thus, they are to be dominated by Hazaras, and while Pashtuns are not allowed to exert their majority anywhere, they are particularly stopped here. This is another area where American arrogance is on show. The USA does not want anyone to have a majority in Afghanistan, so it denies that the Pashtuns do. Therefore, any solution it constructs on this assumption is bound to be neither lasting nor stable.
This brings up another impossible goal that the USA set itself: finding an Afghan solution excluding Pakistan. This involved it in even more trouble, for it could have easily precluded the factor that is bound to create trouble for it: India. The USA, in its desire to pander to India’s posturing, gave it a role in a country where it had had none. India’s anxiety to please the USA, and to expand its footprint in the region, may be rooted in its desire to prove that it could be the regional counterweight against China the USA wants, but it was unwise. Wise or unwise, the US was left carrying the bag.
That all made Pakistan loom large at the conference, and the question of whether it would allow the Nato supplies to pass through its territory also loomed large, not so much because the members were finding the Northern Distribution Network (NDN) expensive, as because Pakistan’s swallowing of the Salala massacre would show how completely it was in the American pocket. The US Defence Secretary, Leon Panetta, just before the summit, converted the whole debate into one about price, giving the impression that lasted the whole summit, that Pakistan was haggling about the new price the USA was supposed to pay per truckload.
One of the things this helped conceal was the American need to have Pakistan on board if it wanted to impose its solution. Its presence at the summit was thus evidence for other Nato members that the USA did have a solution for Afghanistan, and that it was in control of the situation there.
Pakistan, on the other hand, thought that the supplies issue was important. Though it is indeed important, it should not be allowed merely to use it, or its cause, the Salala massacre, merely as a bargaining chip. Its weakness lay in the very point on which the US pressure was brought to bear: the belief by its ruling elite that the USA can determine who rules Pakistan. Because of this, it has determined that it must obey American wishes, and there has been a litany of excuses explaining why the USA should have its wishes obeyed.
However, Washington should realise that unless it achieves closure over Salala, the relationship cannot move forward. Apart from anything else, an apology is necessary. The alternative is an outburst of outrage within a people already made edgy by seemingly never-ending violence, and in the throes of summer heat worsened by electricity shortages. The government simply cannot afford the risk inherent in any popular protest.
Before it is overtaken by events, the Pakistani government should be doing what governments do best: lead. It should be satisfied with having attended the Chicago Summit, and should now turn to making the USA realise that it cannot avoid an apology over Salala, where, after all, its helicopters shot up Pakistani troops so badly that it killed 24 of them, not the other way around.
More so, it should make the USA understand that its not apologising also worked to its benefit in the summit, by showing its other satrapies how firm the USA was, but it was over, and there was more than enough time before the November election for Obama to live down even the most abject apology.
The Chicago Summit made Nato resemble nothing so much as the Delian League, which Athens used to fight against Sparta 2400 years ago, and which consisted of those Greek city-states that were opposed to Sparta (which had its own Peloponnesian League), or allied to Athens. The Nato was originally supposed to fight the USSR (which had the Warsaw Pact), but after the end of the cold war, it needed a new role. It has apparently found that there was no reason for Pakistan to show up here, and certainly not at the price it paid. It should be trying to abandon the US alliance, not maintain it!
It is evident that the Imperialistic dreams of the United States are a failed foreign policy.
As long as there are any Republicans left alive, democracy will be at risk, because they are working single-mindedly and unrelentingly to try to drive us back towards an aristocracy and theocracy. They are the greatest danger to our country and the planet. Partly because most of them are idiots who have been trained not to think....period.....but to bow to what their uber-rich "gods" and their media mouthpieces spew at them.
If you were smart you would know we are not a democracy. we are a republic!!!
If you were smart you would know that most of the people on this forum know that.
Democracies are flawed and do not work as the will of the vocal often trumps the will of the masses – all it takes is a majority (51%) and everyone else (49%) suffer their will. This fundamental flaw is both why America was formed as a Republic and why so many are so unhappy today. Not to fear, America will be returning to it's Republic roots ... soon.
As long as 1 percent or less of the population can buy elections and gridlock the system, the 99 percent are truly in danger of losing their democracy, however, as long as the 99 percent are willing to say we are mad and not going to take it anymore they can reclaim their country, if they are wlling...the 1 percent don't speak for me, do they speak for you?
Democracy is like Patriotism, a made up word to brainwash people to do whatever the Gov wants you to do. The perfect brain programming scheme without an operation to put electronic chips into your brain. Either you take the truth from these words or either you want live your life like a blind sheep. It's one way or the other.
If the American Taliban Party has anything to say about Democracy will be gone replaced by a capitalist society that will leave most of the populace behind and create slave state to serve their purpose. If they could charge you for breathing the air they would.
We just need to start listening to our experts again − after they have been thoroughly vetted by “us”, as legitimate experts, of course – that vetting process being “critical thinking”.
The problem in the U.S. is that we're a republic and it's very easy for those with deep pockets to fund the campaigns of the few that govern the country. The fact that there are only two major political parties also makes it easy for lobbyists to control the government. I'm personally not satisfied with the choice of Romney or Obama, but the third party candidates have no chance of winning. It's often even worse on local elections when voters vote a straight party ticket and select whomever their party has nominated. Ross Perot ran a good campaign and we probably wouldn't be in as deep of a debt as we're currently in if he would have won. Though, he did momentarily get Congress and Clinton to pay attention to the debt at least until Bush entered office.
You all would choose to blame anyone but yourselves. Take a look at who you all really serve – the almighty dollar. Didn't I read somewhere that no one shall be able to buy or sell unless they wear the mark of the beast?
"the mark of the beast"???????
Is this a muslim thing because I do not get it.
This was actually one of the better posts I’ve seen in some time. It actually took many posts before the anger started showing. There was an excellent exchange of historical data relevant to the actual argument at hand. True we are a Democratic Republic which is not a real democracy. Also true is that we have very few people really voting in each election which makes it easier for those who wish to control our government do so. The real danger is the anger we seem to be expressing about the right or left that blinds us and keeps us divided. As long as we allow this anger to cloud our judgement, we will not be one nation. Let’s take a lesson from the first set of commenter’s in this discussion and try to be civil in our discourse, accept there are more than one side to each argument and that, in the end we are all Americans and we need to be on the same side in the end. That will make our Democratic Republic work for the people and fix many of the problems we face today.
Respected,Editor Garu,
DEMOCRACY WILL NEVER FAIL, AND NOT IN CRISIS.
Some Countrys disturbed the Democracy, by the way of money and Insolence.
haha Democracy always fails.
What a myopic survey! In America, we've certainly become a nation of, by, and for the special interests. In the 1700s, the people of the nation could express their views in the media forms of the day: a letter to the editor of the newspaper or speaking out in the public square or State House. Today, the major communications form is TV and radio. The special interests charge EXTRA from their patrons so that they have the money to advertise on TV and radio, and the patron can NOT. How democratic is that? Companies can use the money YOU spent on their product to say how good their product is, even if you determined it was not! Companies can use money obtained from you to bride elected officials via campaign contributions. We are NOT a democracy and worse, most don't even care: it's tough getting a 50% turnout out in many elections – and that's not 50% of all voting-age citizens, that's 50% of those who bothered to register to vote! Meanwhile, France had 70% turnout to vote from President by NOON on election day! The only area on earth where "democratic" nations have lower turnout than us is Africa. Even the Banana Republics of S. America do better!
What this hints at and what I, anyway, see people as confusing, is that Democracy is a political system and not an economic one. People are having problems with the current economic systems of the world and are using the political systems to try to change them. It's not the Democratic government model that needs to change, it's the economic models we are all living under that need to go. They are all wrong. Being in a Democracy/ Republic, whatever, does not mean we must have Capitalism. That, and all other current economic models, are very flawed. The Founding Fathers didn't have Capitalism, they owned slaves for crying out loud.
"The Founding Fathers didn't have Capitalism, they owned slaves for crying out loud."-----How does that make any sense at all?
...they used capitalism. Open a textbook, or use Google, or something. A very popular idea at the time was the French idea of laissez-faire, which last I checked, was a form of capitalism. Their markets were not fixed, government mandated, or equally distributed...and the political system of a country has very large implications on its economic composition. Your inferences have very large gaps of reasoning.
"Amnesty International is calling for an impartial investigation into mass graves found in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Sunday, India's Jammu and Kashmir State Human Rights Commission released a report saying a three-year investigation had uncovered 2,156 unidentified bodies in 38 sites in the region. In a statement released Monday, Amnesty International asked Indian officials to allow impartial forensic experts to carry out a thorough investigation of the skeletal remains. The rights group also urged Indian authorities to ensure the safety of the witnesses who gave statements to police during the investigation. Indian authorities conducted the inquiry in response to allegations that Indian security forces have committed rights abuses in fighting a more than two-decade-long Muslim separatist insurgency. Rights activists say at least 8,000 people have gone missing in Indian Kashmir since the separatists began fighting in 1989 for independence from Hindu-majority India or a merger with Muslim-majority Pakistan. Rebel attacks and Indian government crackdowns have killed at least 50,000 people.
Wonder why the world is keeping mum about this atrocity. Human Rights Commissions please take note.
I did not make this comment.
Please check with your iphones, androids or bbs to see that my moniker is not connected to this thief.
NEW YORK: Renowned Indian activist and novelist Arundhati Roy has decried the silence of the international community over the continued “brutal Indian occupation of Kashmir” and said Kashmiris should be given the right to self-determination.
“Kashmir is one of the most protracted and bloody occupations in the world — and one of the most ignored,” she told a large audience at the Asia Society during a discussion on “Kashmir — a case for freedom”.
Under the Indian military rule in Kashmir, Ms Roy said, freedom of speech was non-existent and human rights abuses were routine. Elections were rigged and the press controlled.
She said the lives of Kashmiris were made miserable by gun-totting security personnel who harassed and terrorised people with impunity, adding that disappearances were almost a daily occurrence as also kidnapping, arrests, fake encounters and torture. Mass graves have been discovered and the conscience of the world remains unstirred……
The apathy towards Kashmir, especially in the western world, Ms Roy said, was because of their pursuit of commercial interests in India where they were more eager to “sell their goods than human rights”……..
This is outrageous. If this what democracy produces, india should revert back to its communist roots.
I did not make this statement.
As you have noticed, the negative poisonous crap these islamists have been spouting are unbelievable.
They gang up on anyone who tries to show the reality to their rants.
If you dare to counter them, they harass you, threaten you, steal your moniker and make as sinine comments.
So what they have done is make me into a fully committed counter to everything they say.
If you have an iphone, bb, or an android phone, just go to globalpublic square.cnn.com to see that everyone is assigned a colour beside your moniker based on your email address. Or, if you have pasted a picture to your email address then that picture appears.
I plan to be around for a very long time.
NEW YORK: Renowned Indian activist and novelist Arundhati Roy has decried the silence of the international community over the continued “brutal Indian occupation of Kashmir” and said Kashmiris should be given the right to self-determination……
She said so little was known about the atrocities being committed by more than half a million Indian troops, the continuing repression and indignities let loose on Kashmiri men, women and children.
More than 700,000 troops were concentrated in the tiny valley, with checkpoints at every nook and corner of Kashmiri towns and cities. The huge Indian presence, she added, was in sharp contrast with 160,000 US troops in Iraq.
Ms Roy alleged that Indian army or security personnel were killing young children, adding that Kashmiris were not radical Islamists or jihadists as India portrayed them. She deplored the Indian government’s attempts to demonise Kashmiris who were moderate Muslims.
OMG!!!! Shame on India .
I did not make this comment.
Adolf Hitler also though that Democracy was a bad idea. He said:
Democracy of the West today is the forerunner of
Marxism, which would be inconceivable without it. It is
democracy alone which furnishes this universal plague
with the soil in which it spreads. In parliamentarianism,
its outward form of expression, democracy created a
'monstrosity of filth and fire' (Spottgeburt aus Dreck und
Feuer) in which, to my regret, the 'fire' seems to have
burned out for the moment.
our founding fathers also thought it was a bad idea and it is.
If you were smart you would know that we're a representative democracy, which is a type of a republic and also a type of democracy.
Although corporations play a disgustingly large role in re-election (esp. for congress), they should not bear all the responsibility for the degradation of our society. Although I personally believe the influence of money is all too prevalent in politics, everyone always looks for a scapegoat, and the consensus seems to be that it's the corporations' faults. Rather, they cannot see the faults in themselves that they so readily see in others. An uneducated voting bloc sees only what gains they can receive in the immediate future and at the smallest cost. They react poorly to austerity, when it is exactly what an overburdened country with insurmountable debt needs. When given the choice between voting for a candidate promoting social welfare and healthcare or a candidate calling for cuts and fiscal responsibility, the people who either rely on these programs or are on the fringe will almost certainly vote for the candidate who benefits them; the social welfare president (I really tried to not seem biased and to not characterize the Obama-Romney race, this was supposed to be a hypothetical example...but I feel like I failed). It is entirely the fault of the voters that congressmen and women are focused not on long-term benefits like the Italian PM described, but on immediate spending that will characterize them favorably when it comes to elections years. People need to wake up. This is not a division between the haves and have-nots, it's a conflict between the nearsighted and the farsighted. Democracy works with an educated, responsible populace. But given the recent past, we will only learn after the fact. As is true with most things in life, the knowledge necessary to overcome is only obtained after you have already lost.
Globalism is in crisis.
The republic, which we are (as so many are pointing out) , is ven worse than a democracy. In the Republic access tio power and vote is restricted and when this access is controlled by money ( it is much easier to buy a few hundred cobgressmen than every single american) then it is not longer a republic but a cleptocracy.
Democracy only works good (and the same goes for socialism) when the population has good moral fiber (like Germans, for example) and willing to work together towards the common goal and sacrifice together. In the US 50% don't pay the federal tax. Yes, I know they pay other taxes but those other taxes pay for other things. Federal tax pays for military and federal programs ( some of our biggest expenses) and 50% of the population don't pay for them. Well, if you are not paying federal tax may be you should be drafted to serve in the military for free.
Freedom is great but as we've seen in this country freedom can and is often abused. Citing "freedom" to restrict another person's belief that may be different than yours happens all to often. Using "freedom" to take another person's money or other resources happens a lot as well. Likewise for using "freedom" to justify frivolous lawsuits. I enjoy freedom over tyranny but too much freedom has its downfalls to. If I were another country's people observing American society, where our priorities and interests lie (pop culture, pushing towards socialism, anti-religion, etc.), I would not want to imitate.
What people need to realize is that Democracy is not a stable state. It is a transition state between Oligarchy and Republic. There has never, in the history of man, been a stable, sustainable Democracy. In the vast majority, the Golden Rule ends up deciding – He Who Has the Gold, Makes the Rules.
Capitalism is the problem. Democracy is working just fine. The Greeks were able to vote as a people their direction – not forced to do what a dictator (a.k.a. banks) would have them do. With any luck – capitalism will fail soon in exchange for a social democracy.
I am still surprised at how many idiots we have in America.
Show me ONE EXAMPLE where socialism/communism, has worked?
Democracy doesn't work for the same reason socialism and communism don't work – too many people not pulling their weight.
It looks like the best system is some sort of enlightened republic where rules are appointed based on their qualifications, not elected.
When you recognize a corporation as a (super-powered) citizen...then yes democracy will not exist. The founding fathers and all supporters of democracy including those who have died in support and protection of it are turning in their graves right now.
No! Is greedy in crisis.
Democracy is fine.
Churchill put it best:
It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried.
The US is a republic with democratic representation. The US is not a democracy.
We're a representative democracy, which is a type of a republic and also a type of democracy.
I thik crisis is the result of a bad democracy.
Folks, Experimental democracy is DOA (Dead On Arrival) in India. It is has never worked in large populated countries. Particularly those with mostly illiterate populace such as India. Too big to manage, minorities such as muslims, sikhs, christians get disenfranchised etc. India will need to go back to its socialist/communist roots. Maybe splitting it up into smaller pieces (circa USSR) is an alternate scenario. CIA is probably running some models to deal with the potential implosion.
Right on my man...i couldn't have said it better.
I did not make this statement.
This was made by the same thieving arab.
Please check your BBs, androids or iphones to see which are my postings.
Haha! The CIA?? I think you've got the wrong organization.. the CIA is more interested the affairs of Iran, Syria, Pakistan, China, North Korea, Venzuela.. etc. They don't involve themselves in the countrie's socio-economic status... maybe the NSA, but they are probably busier spying on Americans who could be potential dissidents (thak you Patriot Act)
democracy is in a crisis because of the lack of education, lack of research, lack of motivation, and the gullibility of the voting people! when all a candidate has to do is say something and people take it as fact with out looking into it democracy is in trouble! once its out there the amount of ignorant people that buy it hook line and sinker is astounding. our democracy is in trouble because of its voting base
FORGET THE DEMOCRACY ....WHERE IS THE BEEF? The Indian Dilemma:::
India needs to get its head from out the clouds. Let India be India. India is about poor people and lower caste. It is all about the cow not the hamburgers or the steaks.
Pakistan "DMEOCRATIC" and “RISING” has established itself as part of a very dynamic regional paradigm amalgamating it geographically with Central Asia, Middle East and Europe. While also situated at the gateway to the Arabian Gulf, Pakistan will also have access to the waters of the Caspian Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea, Arabian Sea, China Sea and the Pacific Ocean. This positions Pakistan at the crossroads to peace and prosperity in the world and economic well-being as well as military clout.
To be read "DEMOCRATIC". Pardon me.
I did not make either of these statements.
An arab as swipe made these statements.
Typical arab, he steals, lies, perjures...
The problems in the world can be traced to central banking. By allowing banks to constantly manipulate economies to benefit the bankers and politicians, we have lived on imaginary wealth for decades. With our credit cards maxed out, bankruptcy is inevitable. Now that the curtain has been opened to the fact that global finance is based on fraud and people aren't going to get the jobs and benefits that they have been promised, they are revolting. The historical cycle will follow with fascism, war, and poverty until the system can be restored. Be prepared for a bumpy ride.
Please stop "witty" people that keep saying "we're not a democracy we're a republic." We're a representative democracy, which is a type of a republic.
Well said.. lots of conspiracy theorizing haters in this forum.
Democracy has not failed...the global populations have become impossible to control. It's simple economics, resource scarcity versus growth has reached a tipping point where cooperation is no longer possible. Not to say the world hasn't always been dominated by a select few but the bottom line is there is going to have to be control for the rich few in todays world to stay powerful. Cast all the votes you want, the rich have big guns, remote controlled robots and riot gear. The next war is not countries versus countries, the next war is populations versus their governments. Get a good snap shot of Syria...coming to a USA near you before 2020....
That's exactly what i predicted in another topic.
Rome was a republic. They had senators that were supposed to represent the people. They instead represented their own interests. Just like today. However, it took Rome 2000 years to crumble. It only took us a bit over 200. We are VERY progressive. We need a monarchy. Democracy has had its chance.
I nominate Brad Pitt
The Internet, to me, is the proletariat, and its most honest, uncensored voice, which leaves me with zero faith in mankind to much of anything "right", "selfless" etc – regardless of the "virtues" "goals" or "skills" claimed.
History forever repeats itself – American teens openly wishing, via youtube, for the violent deaths of those not wholly adoring of their pop idols are no different than Islamic teens in Afghan caves chanting, to wit "STFU die (sic) your a looser"
Long live Canada!!!!
Not for long, with the idiot Stephen Harper Canada will go down the sink hole. Remove that moron from there and Canada will be just fine.
If a majority of the population are fat, dumb, and happy, then any government ever created will succeed. Democracy is only in crisis when people elect politicians who poorly govern and aren't realistic about the nation's future economic situation and prospects.
Both Jefferson and Aristotle said a democracy needs a well-informed and educated citizenry in order to create and sustain democracy. When a democratically-elected politician looks in the mirror, he's looking back at his voters. If America has an 81% disapproval of congress, then it also has an 81% disapproval of itself.
i keep seeing hate and anger filled statements about how much freedom we lost under bush/cheney, what i do not see is where that freedom has been restored under obama. the patriot act, gitmo, are still up and running. the buck stops here has real meaning. if the man at the top can not bring the opposing sides together in compromise to serve the interest of the people then it is time for him to step aside.
It is time for the people to do something, get rid of them and replace them with some people who really work for the people and not there for filling their pockets. Throw the police out for they are corrupted, you don't need that expensive luxury.They are paid by the people but don't work for the people. Redesign a better Government. Shut down the CIA, NSA, FBI, them too are not working for the people who are paying them. Restart all over and do things the right way and then you might have a working Democracy.
There are several variables that threaten democracy. The biggest threat is one of the basic human flaw; greed. Every government in history ends up falling victim to some sort of corruption. As we Globalize (unfortunately), the governments are becoming more influenced by Capitalism (big business, not mom and pop) and are effectively ignoring the needs and common good of their citizens. Companies spend billions on lobbyists for a reason. Democracy is a great idea, but there needs to be laws that help safeguard against the influence of corruption. And before you call me some sort of pot-smoking slacker-liberal. Half of my life (42 years old) I've worked an average of two jobs at the same time, I went to college and I'm in the process of building my own business. I'm not voting for Romney and I'm not voting for Obama either. I think both parties have failed America and that we should fire everyone in DC and start over.
The modern state has always been an organ of class rule. There's never been a time when it 'worked' for the majority of people. With all due respect, the idea that capitalism has just started to corrupt world governments is illusory. Capital needs the apparatuses of the state to stay alive and grow. If capitalism is a system of class rule, the state will obviously work on behalf of the class that has the upper hand.
Those who would call you pot-smoker are just a bunch of imbeciles, the same morons that works in the Government. The same people who cannot accept that they have failed and are not open to suggestions. The more they try to fix their non-working system the worst it gets. While we're here losing our homes and getting involves in wars that are not ours these morons are still trying to fix their idiotic system, but they will never succeed in making it work. Because they are below average IQ level. Those are the same people who call others of pot smoking hippies. I tell you, i've seen and hear some hippies that made more sense than those dressed in expensive suits and ties behind a desk.
The United States survived the Great Depression.. I am confident that we will survive these times as well. Our economy is boom and bust.
We have REPUBLICS because, for the most part, people don't want the responsibility of DEMOCRACY. They don't want to make the decisions. They can't even make the decision about who they want to represent them to make the decision.
Wasn't Bush a Republican?
Democracy is slipping from our grasp in the USA. The US has no business in other countries pushing democracy, when our own democracy is a shambles. We need to overhaul the electoral college, campaign financing, voting regulations per state be different, eliminate caucus votes, every vote to count no matter the party or the state where you live. We need our own house of the corruption that is destroying our own democracy before we can preach it.
You got that right.
US never been democracy.
True. Not for working people. It's been the most democratic state ever created for the privileged few, though.
Can't agree more.
We used to be a democracy. We are getting closer to socialism every day.
If we work hard enough and get these religious people out of office we can become a socialist country.
I am not for big government or socialism. The USA is a capitalist country. Big government has caused the situation we are in currently. We need a smaller government.
Religions are not the problems, t has been use by sociopath since day one simply because everyone was religious and it was an easy way to get people attentions. Put religion aside and forgotten those sociopaths will find another way to get to you, they will again choose something that is in general just like religion was. Religion is not dangerous, the idiots who is using it as a tool to control you are the dangerous one.
my country nigeria is a typical example of crisis democracy: the misled masses may decide who would rule them, While the politicians decide how they will rule whether the eletorate like it or not.
I think a basic problem is that we've confused "democracy" with "capitalism."
The basics of democracy are not in question: free and fair elections, one person/one vote, majority rules/minority rights, the right of free speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, freedom to protest, and other individual rights.
Democracy is not the same as unfettered Capitalism in its Darwinian form. We have a class of people who can, with a straight face, claim they deserve a $20 million/year salary. That is the problem. The growing disparately between the 1% and the rest of us.
Good luck in finding a democracy without capitalism.
The crux of the issue is that there isn't a problem with The System – the problem IS The System. Claiming that Democracy (which, by the way, doesn't really exist and it can't as long as money exists because money causes social stratification and democracy cannot exist in a socially stratified society) can "fix" our economic problems is like suggesting that one can fix a computer by banging it with a toaster.
The problem is not the form of government in place. Monarchies "worked" for centuries under the proper conditions and what we have now (the Corporatocracy / Plutocracy / Oligarchy) is really effectively nothing different from a monarchy, the rule of the Great Unwashed by the elite few. What all the current forms of government have in common is what causes them all, whether they are democracy, socialism, communism, fascism, etc. to fail. The problem is that we continue to insist on using money. Money is the problem. As long as money exists, there will always be massive and growing numbers of poor and a very few extremely wealthy who wield all the power. Get rid of money and we eliminate MOST of our problems. As long as we continue to insist on playing this stupid money game (which, by the way, we're all losing, even the extremely wealthy), we will continue to see every aspect of our societies decline.
I advocate a resource-based economy. If you don't know what that is, I encourage you to visit http://www.thezeitgeistmovement.com to learn all about it.
It is time to wake up.
You would have saved a lot of typing by just saying money gives power.
US – the most lawless country in the world.
US – the only country where employees have no rights whatsoever.
Not exactly, Canada is one too now, and more countries are joining the rank. Gullible people are the problem, the vote and believe in every morons that makes promises.
The braindead masses here are frighting. DEMOCRACY WAS CREATED TO BRING IN COMMUNISM!!! OF COURSE IT IS IN TROUBLE!! WE WERE NEVER MEANT TO BE A DEMOCRACY ON PURPOSE!!! Big govt HAS NEVER WORKED IN ANY COUNTRY...This thread is a PERFECT example of the braindead masses public indoctrination camps & colleges create..they know so much nothing, filled with lies, THIS IS WHY our country is now ran by communists meant to depopulate the earth & keep people in taxation slavery, THINK!!
Democracy is under willful attack by corporations desiring their own fascist form of rule.
exactly but why do the governments let them get so big and powerful.chicken and egg.
Simply because they need them to get more power and more money for their personal bank accounts. It wasn't that hard to figure out.
Let's bring in communism – the most righteous type of government. For people by people. I'm all for it!
Let me ask you a simple question, and if you answer correctly you will wilna dinner for two at your nearest Burger King. Can you tell why the indians tribes were living in a more peaceful and in a better harmony than we do? They had no Police and no Government.
Romney vs. Frankenstein (Obama)
Put simply, better the devil you don't know. Vote Romney.
Wow not only did you unnecessarily insult someone with no explanation, but you totally got the adage backwards.
Since moral obligation, honor, and dudty seems to be lost ideals on these people. A violent revolution may be in order.
Since moral obligation, honor, and duty seems to be lost ideals on these people. A violent revolution may be in order.
I like the Churchill quote at the end. I've heard this before and it always seemed true. Nowadays I wonder though. Especially in the USA. Everyone wants the government to take care of them. I still remember the man after Katrina upset that the government hadn't provided diapers for his baby. He didn't seem to have any idea that he could have left the city or prepared for the storm by stocking up on necesities...including diapers. This type of society where there is no personal responsibility cannot thrive...IMHO
I wouldn't frame it in this manner. Democracy is not the issue, governance is. Too many governments are now stooges of corporate interests that fund their campaigns. The obvious answer to this problem is public financing of federal elections. That wouldn't rid us of corruption but it would be a huge step in the right direction. That would also take outside money out of the process. Today crony capitalism rules and that must end in order for the middle class to return to their rightful place.
no, the republic is in crisis.
Democracy and Anarchy are tools. They are not forms of government or governance. They are tools to transition between factions who control governance. A Republic on the other hand assures 'Equal Justice'.
See Web Video:
"The American Form of Government"
Bush was a republican, and show me where justice is from his actions.
“Democracy has few values of its own: it is as good, or as bad, as the principles of the people who operate it. In the hands of liberal and tolerant people it will produce a liberal and tolerant government; in the hands of cannibals, a government of cannibals.” – Norman Davies, EUROPE A History, pg.-969.
SUPREME COURT BY THEIR VERDICT IN FAVOR OF 'CITIZEN UNITED' HAS DRIVEN THE THE FIRST NAIL ON DEMOCRACY IN UNITED STATES. IN NEXT 10 YEARS WE WILL SEE GREAT TURMOILS. HISTORIANS WILL RECORD THIS VERDICT AS SHORTSIGHTED, BIAS & PREJUDICIAL.
It's capitalism that's in crisis. Democracy as we know it is a joke, at best.
The enemy of democracy is capitalism. They cannot marry. It is like trying to grow a catus and cat tails in the same pot. One needs dry sand and the other needs a marsh or bog. Democracy demands equality and capitalism demands inequality. They mix no better than oil and water.
[Thumbs up.]
Isn't it always?
True democracy where all genders and races have a vote has only been around about 100 years. Smaller forms of democracy a few hundred years. The majority of governement throughout history and even today are dictatorships and monarchies. The idea that democracy is something that has been around forever and the greatest thing is not true. We don't have a "true" democracy anywhere in the world. It's shaved down forms of the true concept.
People have a right to be free and have a vote. However if they choose to do it through a monarchy or dictatorship the choice is theirs. The idea that democracy is the only viable form of government is absurd. Every time the western world tries to force it on other countries, it blows up and creates a bigger problem.
It has always been in crises. You cannot put ten people in a room and get an outcome for anything that makes them all happy. Here in the USA we no longer have free elections because we have CNN, CBS, MSNBC and sometimes ABC working for and promoting Obama while attacking day and night Romney. I do not mind that the attack Romney but they should do the same to Obama as well and they do not
if you worry about your humanity first and your democracy second all will go well. as a human you have to breathe, eat, drink, sleep, etc – and be part of a human family – whose survival depends on the health of that large family – all the democracy coming in addition to that is kind of temporary and changing
When people elected make choices not in the interest of the country...but in the interest of their own finance and own ability to be re-elected...then the people of that government should stop them.
Where are the heroes of the government? We can not see them because they are not in the media...only those who are working to make the cash can be seen.
Democracy is not the problem... citizens allowing a circus to take place in the government is the problem. So the task at hand is to remove the clowns and put people in who will not lie to us, will work for us, and who know that if they do not they will be out of work.
I am tired of watching people elected ignore the issues and work for the next election. and when I get tired, I get cranky...
Exactly, now if you want people who won't lie just make sure you choose people who don't make promises.
Democracy is an absolute essential. However, the founding fathers didn't envision the problems that would be generated by allowing politicians to serve virtually unlimited terms. Americans only limited the presidency to two terms after realizing the mistake they'd made with Roosevelt – seeing the prospect of being unable to pry a populist politician out of office..
For several good reasons, the presidency should be only one six year term. However the greatest damage is done by allowing Senate and House members to continue on decade after decade. This places them in the position of extended political authority and power, and that power is something they can – AND ALL DO – sell to retain office. If the maximum time anyone were allowed in congress were twelve years total, with a minimum five year "cooling off" period where they could not perform any lobbying work, their abuses "marketability" would greatly diminish.
We'd see new blood and fresh ideas, and nobody would have enough time to build an undefeatable power base. It could virtually end pork barrel politics.
We need new blood in the State House or blood in the streets. Either one will do.
We do not have a democracy.
So China's "dangerously high" gini coefficient (0.46) has almost reached the level of the US's (0.47)?
Author Fatima Mernissi
Publisher Addison-Wesley Publishing Co.
Whoever says that modern Arab intellectuals have not engaged in intelligent analysis and criticism of their society, its values and its politics has not read the books of Fatima Mernissi. A Moroccan sociologist, she writes from a feminist perspective, this time about Islamic concepts of freedom, order and responsibility, and their compatibility with democracy. She argues that establishment Islam, that conveyed by the state, has stressed the importance of order and obedience. In this version of Islam, limits on individual freedom must be respected for the sake of communal interests, the past must be veiled and women must be secluded. Other strands of Islam have encouraged the exercise of reason, respected public opinion and valued compassion, but these sentiments have been discouraged by ruling elites anxious to protect their own privileges. The author is at her best when she identifies the origins of a concept in the early days of Islam and shows how it has survived into the present, with all the connotations that can make words like "freedom" seem dangerous. She conveys the social setting in which extremist Islamic movements wave the banner of revolt against oppression while ignoring the corresponding need for tolerance. There are moments of real brilliance and insight in this extended essay. At times the attempt to relate the current crisis to the recent Persian Gulf conflict seems strained, but her fundamental message is powerful and worth hearing.
Is Islam compatible with democracy? Must fundamentalism win out in the Middle East, or will democracy ever be possible? In this now-classic book, Islamic sociologist Fatima Mernissi explores the ways in which progressive Muslims–defenders of democracy, feminists, and others trying to resist fundamentalism–must use the same sacred texts as Muslims who use them for violent ends, to prove different views.
Updated with a new introduction by the author written in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States, Islam and Democracy serves as a guide to the players moving the pieces on the rather grim Muslim chessboard. It shines new light on the people behind today's terrorist acts and raises provocative questions about the possibilities for democracy and human rights in the Islamic world. Essential reading for anyone interested in the politics of the Middle East today, Islam and Democracy is as timely now as it was upon its initial, celebrated publication.
Quoted from editor's site: Perseus Books Group
Liberal Syrian Intellectual Georges Tarabishi: Without Secularism, There Can Be No Democracy
Tuesday, 07 July 2009 03:36
http://www.alwaref.org/en/islamic-culture/171-liberal-syrian-intellectual-georges-tarabishi-without-secularism-there-can-be-no-democracy
This interview was conducted by the London daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, Georges Tarabishi, a prominent liberal Syrian intellectual living in France, spoke about democracy in the Arab world, the fundamentalist challenge, and secularism. He argued that just as secularism emerged in Europe as a remedy to Protestant-Catholic sectarianism, so it is needed in the Arab world to overcome sectarian divisions and pave the way for a democratic future.
What is coming is a class war between people who pay nothing to support government and the declining number of people stuck picking up the tab. 1/2 of all US homes now have a resident that gets at least one government check and 1/2 pay no taxes.
There is a tipping point as seen by the colapse of the greek economy when 60% of Greeks no longer worked and were supported by the remaing 40%...the math simply does not work
Advocates of kaos would like that. When people get jobs they will pay their fair share again.
Democracy is the best form of government … except for all the others that need yet to be discovered!
In democracy, you get the government you voted for. Simple as that. If democracy is dysfunctional, then it's because the voters made it so. working as intended.
What about the irresponsible banking system that lends any amount of money to whoever asks for it, and then when a debt crisis ensues, takes over the internal policy of a whole country( vis-a-vis Greece)? If I go to a bank manager and ask for 5 million dollars, having no assets or business, will he lend it to me? If I find such a bank am I to blame if I take the money and can't pay it back? Or was the bank up to something a little more sinister, like wanting to take over my life? Why did bankers lend so many billions of euros to a country that they knew all along could never pay them back? I blame the bankers, not the Greeks.
You can rest blame squarely on the foreheads of the liberal democrat pseudo intelligentsia. After the Rodney King Riots in the early 90s, Janet Reno and Robert Reich amended Jimmy Carter's Community Reinvestment Act and forced the banks to make loans to people in "underserved" communities to stop the practice of redlining. The banks discovered they could make the loans to just about anybody, package them up, get AIG to underwrite the mortgage insurance, and sell them to unwitting investors on Wall Street.
Liberalism is a mental disorder.
"No Child Left Behind"
Right?
and you wonder why the western world distrusts Muslims.
Well said, saeed. How right you are. The British Empire was built on sheer greed and now our own country is being overran by it! All this right-wing bla-bla-bla to the contrary is just plain foolishness!
saeed. The best part of you ran down the goat's legs!!!!
These as swipe are here in America.
Their sole aim is to invade us by destabilizing us.
They breed like rats.