tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642011.post109573862937898291..comments2023-10-29T10:32:36.914-04:00Comments on Philosophy, et cetera: Civil Freedom vs. Political PowerRichard Y Chappellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16725218276285291235noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642011.post-1131776333787102982005-11-12T01:18:00.000-05:002005-11-12T01:18:00.000-05:00Okay so this post is ages old... but I just found ...Okay so this post is ages old... but I just found it (and your blog) through a link on somebody else's blog... but I just wanted to say, thank you for this post sequence. <BR/><BR/>I completely agree with why we should value liberal democracy. (Unfortunately I don't think there's a better system out there than the one we've got--the possibility of tyranny in all the others is probably even higher.) But if protecting individual liberty isn't the ultimate goal of government, maybe the existence of governments can't be justified. And this is something that you don't really see talked about (perhaps because the social conservatives rely on an evangelical belief system where the government should be 'fixing' or 'saving' people).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642011.post-1096164091829329802004-09-25T22:01:00.000-04:002004-09-25T22:01:00.000-04:00Dave, I explained what sorts of questions I had in...Dave, I explained what sorts of questions I had in mind, in my <A HREF="http://www.blogger.com/r?http%3A%2F%2Fpixnaps.blogspot.com%2F2004%2F09%2Filliberal-democracy.html">earlier post</A>.<br /><br />Of course it would be inappropriate to test people's values or opinions (on controversial matters). If that's your objection, then I fully agree with you. But then, I never suggested any such thing. Rather, I'm suggesting we test their knowledge of some relevant, known <I>facts</I>. <br /><br />These would come in two broad classes:<br />1) General facts about the social/economic situation in their society at present. E.g. "How big is the current economic deficit?", or "The estate tax directly effects only the richest ___% of the population?"<br /><br />2) Facts about the specific policies of the major parties. "What does party X propose to do about issue Y (e.g. the death penalty, abortion, healthcare, etc).<br /><br />The committee would be non-partisan to try to ensure that they framed the questions in as politically-neutral a manner as possible (something I probably failed to do in my above examples). And their status as 'experts' would hopefully ensure that they included only facts which are known to be true.<br /><br />Also, I should repeat that this 'test' is intended to be passable by absolutely anyone who is willing to make the effort. Both questions and their answers could be disseminated in advance. I wouldn't even mind if voters could just copy the answers directly, so long as the process of doing so forced them to <I>think</I> about them somewhat.<br /><br />The point isn't to separate out the 'unworthy'. It's to ensure that everyone who votes (and if that is everyone in the country, then all the better) has some basic knowledge of what it is that they're voting <I>about</I>.<br /><br />So, if done properly (and I recognise that this is a big 'if'), I think this sort of thing could actually <I>enhance</I> democracy, not 'attack' it.Richard Y Chappellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16725218276285291235noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642011.post-1096002190619510222004-09-24T01:03:00.000-04:002004-09-24T01:03:00.000-04:00Yay, someone else agrees at last! I was starting t...Yay, someone else agrees at last! I was starting to think it was me vs. the world for a while there ;)<br /><br />The possibility of uninvented political systems is an interesting one - though a little difficult to imagine what they might be. I wouldn't want to rule out anything absolutely, but I suspect that some variant of democracy will turn out to be the best humans can come up with. But that variant could (I suppose) be as different from modern democracy as the latter is from Ancient Athenian democracy.<br /><br />In general, I think the move to more indirect / representative forms of democracy is probably the way to go. (Those "Binding Citizens Referenda" wotchamacallits sound to me like an awful idea.) Keep the people as far away from direct power as possibile, all the whilst ensuring that the rulers are ultimately held accountable to them.<br /><br />But yeah, I would want to work within the existing democratic framework, rather than tossing it out entirely to start afresh. (Not that you implied any such thing. I just thought I'd clarify the point anyway.)<br /><br />P.S. Nice handle! I once considered writing a short story about a mouse named Nonny, but it never quite worked out, alas.Richard Y Chappellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16725218276285291235noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642011.post-1095921021673462102004-09-23T02:30:00.000-04:002004-09-23T02:30:00.000-04:00I can't be bothered making an account
So my new h...I can't be bothered making an account<br /><br />So my new handle is the Anonny Mouse<br /><br />I agree wholeheartedly (except I only think that democracy is the best salient system. I wouldn't rule out the possibility that there are better ones, such as uninvented ones for instance!)<br /><br />-Anonny mouse (Patrick)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com