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From: bprice@bmcg.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.flame
Subject: Re: Martillo and Logic
Message-ID: <1002@bmcg.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 22-May-84 19:02:31 EDT
Article-I.D.: bmcg.1002
Posted: Tue May 22 19:02:31 1984
Date-Received: Wed, 23-May-84 19:39:48 EDT
References: <855@eosp1.UUCP>
Organization: Burroughs Corporation, San Diego
Lines: 49

From ...!eosp1!robison------------------------------------- 
Martillo notes that the Greeks discovered 2000 years ago, a problem
with democracy -- that if the majority wantto do something rotten, nothing
can be done about it.
This need not be true, and is not true in the democracy of the United
States.  Many people share the misconception that Martillo stated.
Our government provides many checks and balances against majority
opinion.  In particular, many things the majority might decide to do
are unconstitutional, and many other things could not be enacted into
law because our legilators are given sufficient means to prevent
enactment even when in the minority.
The bill of rights is the basis for much of our minority protection.
Some people have gone so far as to describe democracy as a form of
governemnt that gives too much power to all minorities.
					- Toby Robison (not Robinson!)
					allegra!eosp1!robison
					decvax!ittvax!eosp1!robison
					princeton!eosp1!robison
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Robison (not Robinson!) is showing his lack of understanding of both Martillo
and of reality.  Martillo is quite correct about the evils of democracy, even
if he is unenthusiastic in his condemnation.  The misconception that's going on
here is the one that Robison repeats, the misconception that the political
system of the US is (or should be) a democracy.  This dangerous belief is
fostered primarily by those powergrabbers who would then benefit from the name
of their party...

Luckily, as Robison points out, "many things the majority might decide to do
are unconstitutional.."--In other words, our "democracy" works because it is
not a democracy.  Our "democracy" has a constitution, that a few people still
pay attention to; a legislature, representing geography; a special electoral
college, even though it's been hobbled dramatically; and a few other odds and
ends that makes it a little more difficult for "democrats" than they would
like.

I have learned, though, that when someone starts hollering "democracy" at me,
my most productive response is to duck:  either the hollerer is a fool, as
Robison shows himself to be, or is a scoundrel, using the fools to give me the
shaft.

Even though this is not net.politics, here is a challenge for you:  Name a
"democratic" program (i.e., either sponsored by the democrat party or justified
by an appeal to "democracy") that did (or would) not create a privileged class,
at the expense of the rest of us.

-- 
--Bill Price    uucp:   {decvax!ucbvax  philabs}!sdcsvax!bmcg!bprice
                arpa:?  sdcsvax!bmcg!bprice@nosc