well.. I'm not going to go into the divine right's thing. However, it is vertainly not true that 'democracy' is defined by the term you give, (voting and voter control). these are actually more or less the defining caracteristics of a Republic. (and yes, the US is a Republic, and has been for quite a while) In the category of Republics, the US is far superceeded by the Athens of socrates, where the abovementioned conditions certainly applied. For a Democracy however, it is necessary for all those who are considered sound of mind, and responsible for their actions, (i.e. sane adults) to participate in the political process.. be it voting or standing for office. (the fact that law requires a President to be 35 already makes this untrue, and in practice, no man or woman in the US without very substantial holdings can ever become president. Therefor , The US is a Republic, wherein those who are rich can stand for office, (and if over 35 also for president), while all those registered to vote (i.e. not everybody!!!) can vote. (in most countries in Europe, no registering is necessary, upon reaching the age of 18, you are automatically eligable to vote)
hmm.. if you want to include women, and I think you do.. only after women's suffredge and the right to vote for women.. so aroung 1920 somewhere (don't remember exactly)
The people who are constantly trying to enter your county, as you put it, are not in search of freedom, but a change for economical self-sufficiency. This is often a difficult goal to achieve in their country of origin. They do not only go to the US, but many other western counties, where such economical possibilties are available. So your comment has no bearing whatsoever on the social and cultural development of the US. Allthough the average wealth of americans is certainly an achievement in itself, I can only say that wealth cannot be mistaken for social development. The fact that American are generally socially repressant towards those who are not from their own social sub-group, only shows that tolerance has not been achieved, a pre-requisite for a democratic society. The US system is far from democratic... Power in the US is disrtibuted according to wealth and social background.
Slashdot Mirror
well.. I'm not going to go into the divine right's thing. However, it is vertainly not true that 'democracy' is defined by the term you give, (voting and voter control). these are actually more or less the defining caracteristics of a Republic. (and yes, the US is a Republic, and has been for quite a while) In the category of Republics, the US is far superceeded by the Athens of socrates, where the abovementioned conditions certainly applied. For a Democracy however, it is necessary for all those who are considered sound of mind, and responsible for their actions, (i.e. sane adults) to participate in the political process.. be it voting or standing for office. (the fact that law requires a President to be 35 already makes this untrue, and in practice, no man or woman in the US without very substantial holdings can ever become president. Therefor , The US is a Republic, wherein those who are rich can stand for office, (and if over 35 also for president), while all those registered to vote (i.e. not everybody!!!) can vote. (in most countries in Europe, no registering is necessary, upon reaching the age of 18, you are automatically eligable to vote)
hmm.. if you want to include women, and I think you do.. only after women's suffredge and the right to vote for women.. so aroung 1920 somewhere (don't remember exactly)
A minor correction.. There are only 2 countries in Europe that have a mandatory voting system.
The people who are constantly trying to enter your county, as you put it, are not in search of freedom, but a change for economical self-sufficiency. This is often a difficult goal to achieve in their country of origin. They do not only go to the US, but many other western counties, where such economical possibilties are available. So your comment has no bearing whatsoever on the social and cultural development of the US. Allthough the average wealth of americans is certainly an achievement in itself, I can only say that wealth cannot be mistaken for social development. The fact that American are generally socially repressant towards those who are not from their own social sub-group, only shows that tolerance has not been achieved, a pre-requisite for a democratic society. The US system is far from democratic... Power in the US is disrtibuted according to wealth and social background.