Domain: swissworld.org
Stories and comments across the archive that link to swissworld.org.
Comments · 7
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Re:Power
Switzerland has good solar irradiation potential.
Er, no.
It also has mountains.
Yes. About half of Switzerland's power comes from hydroelectric plants. But the good sites are already developed. This is a general problem with hydroelectric power. For large power dams, "all the good sites were gone by 1940". The ideal hydroelectric site was Hoover Dam - narrow gorge to dam, big level drop, large unpopulated desert basin area. Almost every other location is worse.
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Re:Small government, private philanthropy
Depends on what you mean by "it worked very well".
Direct democracries have a tendency for extreme slowness and a dictatorship of the majority. It took until 1971 for Swiss women to gain the right to vote (as it was the men who had to vote for it to happen).
Also, Switzerland is a comparatively small country in the centre of Europe. This causes several advantages for the economy which don't have much to do with their form of government (the BeNeLux countries and to a certain degree Denmark are in a similar situation, though their locations are less ideal), so your argument that "the Swiss are prosperous because they are a direct democracy" does not hold.
Greek city states, on the other hand, were oligarchies, not democracies. Even in Athens, there was always a class of slaves that was not allowed to vote. In Sparta, only a small elite of "Warriors" had a say in politics. Platon famously argued that a country where "a carpenter thinks he can do the business of a politician" was doomed. -
Re:A Prediction
The original poster claimed that the US wasn't "morally right" to deny countries nuclear weapons.
Only the US has actually used nuclear weapons in a war. And that was when other countries did not have their own nuclear weapons to deter us. These days, mutually-assured destruction makes the use of nuclear weapons stupid. Dr. Strangelove shows how it works.
I challenge you to come up with a foreign-policy that's "morally right" according to all moral codes (past, present, and future) and based on ideas that have historically proven successful.
Let's try the Swiss policy of minding our own business. "Don't get involved in other people's affairs", as it is said. Let's try true free trade, non-agression, defense of our country, but no offense in other countries. This does not prevent us from building missile defenses and such.
Imagine how much less of our tax money we would spend if we didn't send our troops around the world to defend our the business interests of our pet companies that pay off politicians for the protection. -
Re:come on, let's face itI know it's a mistake to bite at a troll, but I can't resist.
Large Swiss based companies ( courtesy of swissworld.org : Nestle -- world's largest food company, Novartis -- huge pharmaceuticals producer, Logitech -- there is a one in three chance they made your mouse, Swiss Re -- one of the largest re-insurance companies in the world, they underwrite everybody.
Large Swedish based companies (courtesy of visit-stockholm.com: IKEA -- they invented flat-packed, home-assembled furniture in the 50s. Ericsson -- way more than mobile phones, Electrolux -- they make Frigidiare and Eureka appliances
But I'd be surprised if these facts change your views. -
Re:there are relationships though
Direct democracy is a well established part of the Swiss political system.
Voters have a range of rights which give them a direct influence on policies at every level. Citizens who want to put forward proposals of their own or who object to legislation already passed by Parliament can use the popular initiative and the referendum to oblige the authorities to put the issue to the people as a whole.
http://www.swissworld.org/dvd_rom/eng/direct_democ racy_2004/ -
Re:Jst a asmall nitpick
Switzerland managed to be incredibly stable in war torn Europe retaining its current form since 1848.
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Re:It's very easy, actually.
In the ancient world, the citizens of a democracy voted on laws directly. No one practises this anymore
Hmmm...You might want to read about Direct Democracy in Switzerland. Why does it seem so inconceivable here? Well, (from the second link there), "the extensive choice of media play a decisive role in ensuring the proper functioning of this particular form of State."