publick opinion

[Pickman's model]

i'll change my ways on the greek kalends.

 

[untethered]

Different origins of words.

My mother always told me never to pick a fight with a militant etymologist. Those wise words have stood me in good stead thus far.

 

[tangentlama]

you'd put a k at the end of trac, bac and whac - so why not publick?

you didn't put a c in shrun'ck'

hardly fucking consistent, are you?

oh i know, now, your new job's with calvin klein

 

[Pickman's model]

did dr johnson put a fucking c in shrunk? did he? i fucking think not!

 

[General Ludd]

Democracy based around majority rule has no inherent responsibility to consider the needs of minority groups. It's the balance between power and responsibility here that's important. The value of a representative system with political parties is that their actions are constrained by having to act broadly responsibly over time to retain power.

So the problem is that if you give people power over their own lives they behave irresponsibily, and the solution is to give a small number of people loads of power?

 

[tangentlama]

did dr johnson put a fucking c in shrunk? did he? i fucking think not!

i believe that is what's cknown as a ckrapulous ckreed
but don't just take my opinion for it

 

[tangentlama]

 

[Donna Ferentes]

i'll change my ways on the greek kalends.

What's the point? It's not like they're ever going to happen.

 

[Pickman's model]

What's the point? It's not like they're ever going to happen.

that's the fucking point.

 

[Pickman's model]

i believe that is what's cknown as a ckrapulous ckreed
but don't just take my opinion for it

i suspect you are unaware of the difference between a suffix and a prefix. but i won't argue with yr newfound heterographie.

 

[Donna Ferentes]

that's the fucking point.

Of that I was aware.

 

[untethered]

So the problem is that if you give people power over their own lives they behave irresponsibily, and the solution is to give a small number of people loads of power?

I suspect you are mischievously restating my argument incorrectly.

To a large extent, the way to give people power over their own lives is to have a minimal state. There are many fundamental questions about not how government should do things but whether it should do them. Of course, the scope of government has to be a democratic choice, too.

There is no perfect system. Nor do I assume that purity of democracy is the sole or principal objective of any political system. If you want to have government by consent, that means the consent of all the governed, not just those that can muster a simple majority. There has to be a broad consensus about common denominators and party-based representative democracy seems to be the best way to achieve it.

Unless you've got any better ideas, of course.