Text 21655, 57 rader
Skriven 2011-08-09 01:06:51 av Lee Lofaso (2:203/2)
  Kommentar till text 21651 av Björn Felten (2:203/2)
Ärende: True Democracy
======================
Hello Björn,

 LL>> No place in the world does true democracy exist. It is a
 LL>> utopia that is yet to be created.

BF>In an entire country, correct.

I tend to agree with that assessment.  Too many competing interests
make the task too difficult, if not impossible, for an entire country
to be a true democracy.

BF>But monasteries as well as kibbutzim are both very close to
BF>having true democracy.

An interesting thought.  But mistaken on several counts.

Thomas More wrote a book called "Utopia".  His vision of utopia
was not a pleasant one.  Not a place I would want to live, anyway.
After his death, More was declared a saint by the RCC.  Although
there are many different interpretations of his work, my view is
More's treatise on utopia was based on Catholic teaching.  Could
such a "perfect" world possibly exist on Earth?  And if so, would
it be a pleasant society?

Theory - The more a society is comprised of the same folk, the
more dictatorial or authoritarian is the regime.  Doesn't matter
if that society is majority Catholic, majority Protestant, majority
Muslim, majority Hindu, majority Buddhist, or what.  The majority
will always seek to purify itself, without end.

In majority Muslim countries, Muslims distinguish themselves
between high Muslims and low Muslims.  Those who call themselves
high Muslims get rid of those they call low Muslims.  And then
they divide themselves up again.  And again.  And again.  Et
al infinitum.  An extreme case is the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Christians have done the same as Muslims.  Both Catholics and
non-Catholics.  Hindus have done the same.  Ditto with Buddhists.
Every group tries to purify itself.  Hitler took things to an
extreme (Aryan race).  So did Mussolini (Roman empire).  Hirohito
was a living god, the Japanese people being the most homogenous
people on the face of this planet.

I am not so sure true democracy is possible, even within the small
confines of a monastery or kibbutzim.  Especially since the Beatles
had been fooled into such a belief, until they heard an Indian yoga
master trying to sing "Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Hare Krishna..."

BF>The old Greek knew, that democracy will not work with more than
BF>a thousand people or so.

Small hippie communes, perhaps.  But nothing like a thousand people.

--Lee

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