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From: franka@mmintl.UUCP (Frank Adams)
Newsgroups: net.politics
Subject: Re: Percentages
Message-ID: <851@mmintl.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 7-Dec-85 18:38:48 EST
Article-I.D.: mmintl.851
Posted: Sat Dec  7 18:38:48 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 13-Dec-85 06:28:10 EST
References: <1536@decwrl.UUCP> <60@midas.UUCP> <303@brl-tgr.ARPA>
Reply-To: franka@mmintl.UUCP (Frank Adams)
Organization: Multimate International, E. Hartford, CT
Lines: 28


In article <303@brl-tgr.ARPA> wmartin@brl-tgr.ARPA (Will Martin ) writes:
>To me, the difference becomes meaningful and worthy of support if the
>percentage figures are more like 90% - 10%, and just maybe 80% - 20%,
>but certainly not down to the 70% - 30% level. (It seems obvious that
>something or someone that 30% of the population do NOT want should never
>be adopted, or elected, or whatever the appropriate verb is in the
>particular case.)
>
>Think of how much better, happier, and simpler our lives would be if the
>ONLY things that governments would do, and the ONLY people that were in
>positions of authority, were those that had the support of 80% of the
>populace! Life would be even better if we made that "90%". The idiotic
>concept that one vote over the 50% mark is a meaningful determination as
>to how to run our society and live our lives is simply disgusting.

So 50% of the population wants Reagan as president, 40% wants Mondale, and
10% doesn't want to have a president (I doubt the percentage is that).
Does that mean we shouldn't have a president?  90% of the population
thinks we should.

This is representative of the problem generally.  Quite often, there is
overwhelming support for doing *something*, but no consensus on *what*.
Also, it isn't always clear what constitutes doing something, and what
constitutes doing nothing.

Democracy is the worst possible system, except for all the others.
Frank Adams                           ihpn4!philabs!pwa-b!mmintl!franka
Multimate International    52 Oakland Ave North    E. Hartford, CT 06108