Direct or representative democracy?

Dear Rory

I believe you have a rather naive idea of direct democracy.
It might have helped temporarily to get Robert Mugabe out of power in Zimbabwe. But taht's about it. And you still have the problem of a far too low level of education and a plurality of opinions to make democracy work as intended anyway.
Looking at how much conservatism and shortsightedness direct democracy generates in many countries where it is in use, it is no model and certainly not any better than representative democracy.
Scandinavaians have been offered direct democracy many times but always opted for representative democracy instead. They firmly believe that politics is too complicated for people to decide on every issue themselves all the time. better then to outsource politics to trusted experts, in other words: Representative democracy is superior! The more educated we are as a people, the more we realize who complex the world really is!
Switzerland is an exception from this rule, being a country speaking four official languages and with a strong historical need for decentralization. But most countries are not like Switzerland.
Please take your time to study the current massive financial and legal mess in California and I believe your rosy ideas of direct democracy will go out the window. That's my ten cents on the issue.

Ushta
Alexander

2009/12/14 Rory

Dear Dino,

Amazing. One would expect people to become more appreciative of education the more educated they become. What is causing it? Is there strong populist propoganda being used by poiticians?


Ushta,
Rory

--- In Ushta@yahoogroups.com, Special Kain wrote:
>
> Dear Rory
>
> I know that it's a fairly pretty picture, but it's quite exhausting. There's way too much anti-intellectualism amongst Swiss people. University students are constantly being dissed and discriminated against: to the vast majority of people university students are theorists only that have spent too much time in their ivory towers, being completely detached from «the real world».
> I've recently graduated, but I still get same rejection. University equals bullshit, that's how people see me. Anti-intellectualism as a problem in democratic societies is as long as the notion of democracy itself, see Plato. All opinions and whims are treated as equal, as if the political equality of all people would justify such nonsense. But there's anti-intellectualism anywhere, simply because both dictatorships and democracies live in fear of a bright mind's smart conclusions.
> It's really tiring. I wonder if it's resentment. Anyone who's different and has a strong desire to stand out is discriminated against. That's why there's no praise of plurality in Switzerland. And what are democracies without pluralism - or with pluralism «on the paper», but not in their thick heads? It's nothing. But Switzerland is famous for its xenophobia and dismissal of individualism. You can't help but becoming a cultural radical when living in Zurich. ;-)
>
> Ushta, Dino