Why does everyone think democracy is so great?

[Othelos]

Democracy is an utterly overrated system of government because having uneducated turds make important national decisions seems like it would be detrimental to a country. As Socrates once said, "Who would you want want steering a boat; an educated Captain, who has spent his life learning to sail, or an uneducated peasant mob?". That same logic should go for countries as well, right? Wouldn't it be better if educated elites ran a country?

They kinda do that already, tbh, and look how great things are.

Better than a dictatorship, definitely, but we need to have the power to kick people out, so that people don't abuse their power.

[Ostroeuropa]

They don't. I suspect if you asked us to vote on it, we'd vote against it.

"Your preferred government"
"Democracy"
(Pick one.)

[Libertypendence Park]

Democracies work because the things that are popular with the people are sometimes—not always—conducive to the welfare of the nation as a whole. Vote out the person who wants to build gilded statues of himself, vote in the one who builds hospitals and roads and navies.

[Ashkera]

Because wars of succession are a nightmare for the national GDP.

Well I mean, that's the reason it is, not the reason people think that it is.

[Greed and Death]

Because wars of succession are a nightmare for the national GDP.

Well I mean, that's the reason it is, not the reason people think that it is.

Come now the GDP may collapse but these are some of the greatest times to gain honor.

[Litorea]

Democracy, at least in the modern day, is the most preferable form of government not out of any benefit from its actual political organization but because so far it's been the only system of government that has more-or-less reliably maintained the civil liberties of the general public despite regime changes or changes in national circumstance, with the exception of the World Wars. From a purely practical, form and function standpoint, yes, democracy can be seen as corrupt or dysfunctional, but no other form of government has really allowed civil liberty and thus cultural growth, prosperity, and general happiness to grow in the same way democratic governments have. Even though benevolent dictatorships and enlightened despotisms do occasionally allow such liberty, they almost always revert back to repressive or highly conservative governments either due to a change in leadership or due to a change in the national circumstance.

I've always had a certain appreciation for crowned republics as a good compromise - it allows the free political system that encourages the growth of civil liberty while maintaining a stable but (usually) universally respected anchor that can maintain public faith in the state and, depending on constitutional limits, check the country's political leaders should they grow too corrupt or too authoritarian.

[Metalvie]

If meritocracy and technocracy were possible on their own I'd agree with you. Sadly, that isn't the case. (I acknowledge the irony)

The best you can ask for in a peaceful world is a well educated populace in a confederation of autonomous communes with a worker's-controlled economic system.

In the Modern world the best you can ask for is a well educated populace with a republican government that doesn't allow capitalism and corruption to influence the media. Good luck with setting up and monitoring the bureaucracy that manages that.

[Len Hyet]

Democracy is an utterly overrated system of government because having uneducated turds make important national decisions seems like it would be detrimental to a country. As Socrates once said, "Who would you want want steering a boat; an educated Captain, who has spent his life learning to sail, or an uneducated peasant mob?". That same logic should go for countries as well, right? Wouldn't it be better if educated elites ran a country?

Democracy is the worst form of government, except all others which we have tried

[Senkaku]

Because the other shit either fucking sucks or is too hard for us to figure out how to actually do in real life.

[The East Marches II]

Because wars of succession are a nightmare for the national GDP.

Well I mean, that's the reason it is, not the reason people think that it is.

^This

[The Foxes Swamp]

most people wouldnt think about it at all, this is the system the only people that can change it have no intentions of changing it.

[Osnil Returns]

Democracy is an utterly overrated system of government because having uneducated turds make important national decisions seems like it would be detrimental to a country. As Socrates once said, "Who would you want want steering a boat; an educated Captain, who has spent his life learning to sail, or an uneducated peasant mob?". That same logic should go for countries as well, right? Wouldn't it be better if educated elites ran a country?

Who says the captain has any experience? What if everyone else just mutinied the Captain for being a jerk?

[Crockerland]

Two wolves and a lamb voting on what's for dinner can sound awfully appealing if you're the wolf.

[Infected Mushroom]

Democracy is an utterly overrated system of government because having uneducated turds make important national decisions seems like it would be detrimental to a country. As Socrates once said, "Who would you want want steering a boat; an educated Captain, who has spent his life learning to sail, or an uneducated peasant mob?". That same logic should go for countries as well, right? Wouldn't it be better if educated elites ran a country?

Absolutely.

Democracy is stupid as hell. Its like having a high school popularity contest dictate state policy except your giving the Prom Queens real power.

[Infected Mushroom]

most people wouldnt think about it at all, this is the system the only people that can change it have no intentions of changing it.

it appeals to people's sense of self-esteem too.

"Oh we are all Equal see? We all have a say in the government and its how it should be. We're all of Equal worth."

Meanwhile, its an excuse to underperform all across...

[Senkaku]

Democracy is an utterly overrated system of government because having uneducated turds make important national decisions seems like it would be detrimental to a country. As Socrates once said, "Who would you want want steering a boat; an educated Captain, who has spent his life learning to sail, or an uneducated peasant mob?". That same logic should go for countries as well, right? Wouldn't it be better if educated elites ran a country?

Absolutely.

Democracy is stupid as hell. Its like having a high school popularity contest dictate state policy except your giving the Prom Queens real power.

Precisely. The Prom Queen should seize the crown with military force, and pass her crown on to her children and her childrens' children for centuries, forcing the school to comply with sometimes decent and sometimes ridiculous and detrimental policies, sometimes capably advised by faculty and sometimes not, until her dynasty is deposed in a bloody coup d'etat or a civil war that leaves the school hallways strewn with bodies and ruined school supplies. Then the school can either devolve into a period of Warring Classrooms, or a new dynasty can assume the Mandate of Prom and...

You know, this doesn't sound fun.

[Len Hyet]

Absolutely.

Democracy is stupid as hell. Its like having a high school popularity contest dictate state policy except your giving the Prom Queens real power.

Precisely. The Prom Queen should seize the crown with military force, and pass her crown on to her children and her childrens' children for centuries, forcing the school to comply with sometimes decent and sometimes ridiculous and detrimental policies, sometimes capably advised by faculty and sometimes not, until her dynasty is deposed in a bloody coup d'etat or a civil war that leaves the school hallways strewn with bodies and ruined school supplies. Then the school can either devolve into a period of Warring Classrooms, or a new dynasty can assume the Mandate of Prom and...

You know, this doesn't sound fun.

Speak for yourself I would watch the shit out of that TV show

[Jello Biafra]

Democracy is an utterly overrated system of government because having uneducated turds make important national decisions seems like it would be detrimental to a country. As Socrates once said, "Who would you want want steering a boat; an educated Captain, who has spent his life learning to sail, or an uneducated peasant mob?". That same logic should go for countries as well, right? Wouldn't it be better if educated elites ran a country?

Why do you assume that a nondemocratic system would result in educated elites running the country?

[Iridencia]

Going to be honest: I've never come across a person who snubbed democracy and favored authoritarianism and did not, at least on a subconscious level, envision themselves as the great and shining leader bossing around all the "uneducated turds." When they say, "Wouldn't it be better if the elite ruled us?" what they're usually really saying, "Wouldn't it be better if I ruled us?"

And the answer is no. You're (and I do mean a general "you," not specifically you, OP) not as smart or special as you think you are. In the eyes of everyone else on earth, you're just as much a part of the dry, dull, little sheep herd known as humanity. While you're sitting there turning up your nose at your fellow man and thinking, "What an idiot!" they're looking right back at you thinking the exact same thing. Your eyes are just as empty, your jaw is just as loose, your shuffling gait is just as obnoxious, your voice is just as grating, you smell just as bad, you take just as long at the register, your social media posts are just as boring, and your taste in media is just as shallow. Nobody is impressed by you when you walk down the street, and it's not because they're just too stupid to see your greatness, it's because you have no greatness to speak of.

And that's why we can't have just a few jackoffs bossing everyone around, because there is no such thing as a magical genius who has all the answers to life if only we would just listen to him. You can sit around and read poetic quotes falsely attributed to Albert Einstein all day, that doesn't mean if you gave him a scepter he'd lead the world to utopia. Everyone on this planet thinks that they're ~special~ or that they know someone ~special~ and that everyone else's picks for Most ~Special~ Person™ is Obviously Wrong™, so what the hell makes you think that your picks are any better?

There's an unfathomable well of knowledge, expertise, merit, and experience scattered throughout the human race, and our needs are just as broad. It's impossible for any one person to be able to contain all these beneficial traits or fully comprehend the needs of those outside their personal circle, especially if you were born into privilege and just handed power, regardless of how many classes you took in a velvet room in an ivory tower somewhere. You alone do not get to make the decisions for everyone because you do not know what it's like to be everyone. The only way we can get a system that's close to pleasing everyone is to have everyone speak for themselves and see how we can balance that, not pick some guy to overlook the situation and see if he can get the general gist of it. The only way we can truly determine who is and who is not "elite" is to let everyone have a chance to prove themselves instead of spending the rest of our lives kissing aforementioned some guy's ass while hoards of potential is wasted away in the unwashed masses.

Any time you get the feeling that we need "elites" ruling us, ask yourself if you are content with not being one of those elites. Be honest and ask yourself if you'd really have a great life being the lowest class in your envisioned society, if you can really look at history and the world and tell yourself that the big guy with the crown is really going to always be looking out for little old peasant you. Do you want to spend your life farming turnips or minding the cotton machines while all your important life decisions are made for you?

If the answer is no, then what the fuck makes you think that anyone else would want that?

If the answer is yes, then I encourage to stop voting and stop trying to contribute your opinions to the political discourse. If you're so convinced that you would be comfortable as a powerless peon in a hypothetical society, no power or influence over the way your country operates for better or for worse, then you should have no problem being one now.

[Infected Mushroom]

Going to be honest: I've never come across a person who snubbed democracy and favored authoritarianism and did not, at least on a subconscious level, envision themselves as the great and shining leader bossing around all the "uneducated turds." When they say, "Wouldn't it be better if the elite ruled us?" what they're usually really saying, "Wouldn't it be better if I ruled us?"

And the answer is no. You're (and I do mean a general "you," not specifically you, OP) not as smart or special as you think you are. In the eyes of everyone else on earth, you're just as much a part of the dry, dull, little sheep herd known as humanity. While you're sitting there turning up your nose at your fellow man and thinking, "What an idiot!" they're looking right back at you thinking the exact same thing. Your eyes are just as empty, your jaw is just as loose, your shuffling gait is just as obnoxious, your voice is just as grating, you smell just as bad, you take just as long at the register, your social media posts are just as boring, and your taste in media is just as shallow. Nobody is impressed by you when you walk down the street, and it's not because they're just too stupid to see your greatness, it's because you have no greatness to speak of.

And that's why we can't have just a few jackoffs bossing everyone around, because there is no such thing as a magical genius who has all the answers to life if only we would just listen to him. You can sit around and read poetic quotes falsely attributed to Albert Einstein all day, that doesn't mean if you gave him a scepter he'd lead the world to utopia. Everyone on this planet thinks that they're ~special~ or that they know someone ~special~ and that everyone else's picks for Most ~Special~ Person™ is Obviously Wrong™, so what the hell makes you think that your picks are any better?

There's an unfathomable well of knowledge, expertise, merit, and experience scattered throughout the human race, and our needs are just as broad. It's impossible for any one person to be able to contain all these beneficial traits or fully comprehend the needs of those outside their personal circle, especially if you were born into privilege and just handed power, regardless of how many classes you took in a velvet room in an ivory tower somewhere. You alone do not get to make the decisions for everyone because you do not know what it's like to be everyone. The only way we can get a system that's close to pleasing everyone is to have everyone speak for themselves and see how we can balance that, not pick some guy to overlook the situation and see if he can get the general gist of it. The only way we can truly determine who is and who is not "elite" is to let everyone have a chance to prove themselves instead of spending the rest of our lives kissing aforementioned some guy's ass while hoards of potential is wasted away in the unwashed masses.

Any time you get the feeling that we need "elites" ruling us, ask yourself if you are content with not being one of those elites. Be honest and ask yourself if you'd really have a great life being the lowest class in your envisioned society, if you can really look at history and the world and tell yourself that the big guy with the crown is really going to always be looking out for little old peasant you. Do you want to spend your life farming turnips or minding the cotton machines while all your important life decisions are made for you?

If the answer is no, then what the fuck makes you think that anyone else would want that?

If the answer is yes, then I encourage to stop voting and stop trying to contribute your opinions to the political discourse. If you're so convinced that you would be comfortable as a powerless peon in a hypothetical society, no power or influence over the way your country operates for better or for worse, then you should have no problem being one now.

And the answer is no. You're (and I do mean a general "you," not specifically you, OP) not as smart or special as you think you are. In the eyes of everyone else on earth, you're just as much a part of the dry, dull, little sheep herd known as humanity. While you're sitting there turning up your nose at your fellow man and thinking, "What an idiot!" they're looking right back at you thinking the exact same thing. Your eyes are just as empty, your jaw is just as loose, your shuffling gait is just as obnoxious, your voice is just as grating, you smell just as bad, you take just as long at the register, your social media posts are just as boring, and your taste in media is just as shallow. Nobody is impressed by you when you walk down the street, and it's not because they're just too stupid to see your greatness, it's because you have no greatness to speak of.

I had no idea everyone was just a complete clone of each other and every single person was just completely mediocre and identical and equally unfit to rule

You've got people who swim faster, fight better, play video games better, do math faster... no two people are completely equal in these respects

so its only natural to assume, despite the democratic myth, that some people do make better rulers than others and history has shown this to be the case

[Wallenburg]

I'd rather have the occasional incompetent leader than a lifelong, tyrannical, irrevocable one.

[Socialista Libertario]

I'd take an awful democratically elected president over a good dictator any day. Authoritarian-elitism ran the world for millennia, and continues to today. We need less elitism, not more.

[Iridencia]

I had no idea everyone was just a complete clone of each other and every single person was just completely mediocre and identical and equally unfit to rule

You've got people who swim faster, fight better, play video games better, do math faster... no two people are completely equal in these respects

so its only natural to assume, despite the democratic myth, that some people do make better rulers than others and history has shown this to be the case

There's an unfathomable well of knowledge, expertise, merit, and experience scattered throughout the human race, and our needs are just as broad. It's impossible for any one person to be able to contain all these beneficial traits or fully comprehend the needs of those outside their personal circle, especially if you were born into privilege and just handed power, regardless of how many classes you took in a velvet room in an ivory tower somewhere. You alone do not get to make the decisions for everyone because you do not know what it's like to be everyone. The only way we can get a system that's close to pleasing everyone is to have everyone speak for themselves and see how we can balance that, not pick some guy to overlook the situation and see if he can get the general gist of it. The only way we can truly determine who is and who is not "elite" is to let everyone have a chance to prove themselves instead of spending the rest of our lives kissing aforementioned some guy's ass while hoards of potential is wasted away in the unwashed masses.

The point of democracy is to:

A) Have the people whose lives are actually effected by the decisions of a leader to be able to choose a leader instead of just putting up with whoever is handed to them, and

B) To maintain a safety net of power over said decisions for the times when the leader inevitably fucks up because they're not perfect.

If you're really the best of the best, you should have no trouble demonstrating it to the rest of us and earning your authority in a fair measure of merit. You sure as hell are not going to just be given the benefit of the doubt or have us take some vague On High's word for it that you know what you're doing, which is what authoritarianism is. You want power? Prove to us, the ones who stand to gain or lose, that you know how to use it. If you do good, you keep it. If you fuck up, you lose it. As this is our livelihood at stake here, we will be the judge of whether or not you failed or succeeded, not some indistinct Superman who thinks he's special enough to speak on behalf of everyone.


Otherwise, who is the one saying that you're "naturally better" at being a ruler? Who decides that? Furthermore, why should you care when no one can displace you?

[Infected Mushroom]

I had no idea everyone was just a complete clone of each other and every single person was just completely mediocre and identical and equally unfit to rule

You've got people who swim faster, fight better, play video games better, do math faster... no two people are completely equal in these respects

so its only natural to assume, despite the democratic myth, that some people do make better rulers than others and history has shown this to be the case

There's an unfathomable well of knowledge, expertise, merit, and experience scattered throughout the human race, and our needs are just as broad. It's impossible for any one person to be able to contain all these beneficial traits or fully comprehend the needs of those outside their personal circle, especially if you were born into privilege and just handed power, regardless of how many classes you took in a velvet room in an ivory tower somewhere. You alone do not get to make the decisions for everyone because you do not know what it's like to be everyone. The only way we can get a system that's close to pleasing everyone is to have everyone speak for themselves and see how we can balance that, not pick some guy to overlook the situation and see if he can get the general gist of it. The only way we can truly determine who is and who is not "elite" is to let everyone have a chance to prove themselves instead of spending the rest of our lives kissing aforementioned some guy's ass while hoards of potential is wasted away in the unwashed masses.

The point of democracy is to:

A) Have the people whose lives are actually effected by the decisions of a leader to be able to choose a leader instead of just putting up with whoever is handed to them, and

B) To maintain a safety net of power over said decisions for the times when the leader inevitably fucks up because they're not perfect.

If you're really the best of the best, you should have no trouble demonstrating it to the rest of us and earning your authority in a fair measure of merit. You sure as hell are not going to just be given the benefit of the doubt or have us take some vague On High's word for it that you know what you're doing, which is what authoritarianism is. You want power? Prove to us, the ones who stand to gain or lose, that you know how to use it. If you do good, you keep it. If you fuck up, you lose it. As this is our livelihood at stake here, we will be the judge of whether or not you failed or succeeded, not some indistinct Superman who thinks he's special enough to speak on behalf of everyone.


Otherwise, who is the one saying that you're "naturally better" at being a ruler? Who decides that? Furthermore, why should you care when no one can displace you?

No one decides if you're the best ruler or not. You either are, or aren't. That's the inherent fallacy with democracy (that the majority can actually decide who is the best leader).

You don't vote on who is the best mathematician or the best chemist, the best simply is the best.

[Bombadil]

Here's a long list of government forms and isms, for context, as explained by your mum washing..

https://twitter.com/BeninCitizen/status ... 0265491456

Probably need scroll up for full list.