Anarchy vs. Democracy

[clayinaustin]

I thought this "cut and paste" deserved it's own thread.

anarchy-and-democracy

OK, here is some food for thought: Is Democracy the first step towads anarchy?

In order to answer this question we should go back to why and how Democracy came into being as an idea: In Ancient Athens, of course. Now, in order to understand democracy, you must understand the ancient (and most likely modern) Greek. There is a common characteristic that underlies the personality of most Greeks: they were, are, and will probably always be stubborn and resistant to any authority telling them what to do.

Perhaps it was fine for the ancient Egyptians to be ruled by a godlike ruler, the Pharaoh, for the Persians to have a mighty emperor, but not for the unruly ancient Greeks, no way! They wanted to have a say on who rules them and how long they would be ruled by that individual. They wanted to be able to punish their ruler for making the wrong decisions by toppling him from power. Each Greek actually deep down wanted to be the one in power!

If it was at all possible, Greeks would thrive in an anarchist environment. They don't respond well to authority, rules and regulations. Even today, to a Greek, the law is merely a suggestion, not a binding force. Only the dire need for collective safety forced the Ancient Greeks to form some sort of government, and they tried to make it as painless as possible, ergo: Democracy.

 

[clayinaustin]

It's a miracle that the idea of Democracy took such a widespread hold over the Earth in modern days. Most other peoples believe that it is a very haphazard and inefficient form of government. Even the U.S. who purports to be democratic has watered down the original idea by turning their government into what is more of an oligarchy than a true Democracy. As a matter of fact, oligarchies are much more common than true Democracies and for a good reason: Power is something people want to hold on to and pass it down only to their own families or trusted heirs.

True Democracy - one person one vote - is only one step away from anarchism. The will of the majority only loosely rules the minority, who given half a chance, would take over at the first opportunity. Only the majority's control of the power, such as the army and the police, stops the system from complete collapse.

Anarchism is deemed undesirable for some obvious reasons, the safety of others and the need for some order in society being the major ones. Democracy is the next best thing for the unruly individual who still retains a modicum of responsibility and Oligarchy is the next step towards the concentration of power to a few.

It seems that the pendulum has been swinging both ways in the past between the two extremes: dictatorships and total anarchy being the two end points. For some reason, dictatorships appear much easier to achieve than total anarchy.

 

[clayinaustin]

Given the historical experience, once more we can conclude that the ancient Athenian Greeks had it right. A society needs government and order, but not too much government and order. Checks and balances are necessary to keep the power from concentrating in too few hands, and the right of the people to get rid of a bad leader is paramount. The democratic system allows for the freedom of the people, while still safeguarding society from extreme behavior.

Perhaps there are better systems of government to be found. Perhaps there is a utopic system of equal treatment and increased social conscience that may be developed in the future. If it does not take into consideration the two extreme forces - the need for people to possess power on the one hand and their equal need to be free and unfettered - it would be doomed to failure.

 

[clayinaustin]

and of course...

A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship.

< Does any of this sound like our past and current administration? >

The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations from the beginning of history has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, these nations always progressed through the following sequence:

■From bondage to spiritual faith;
■From spiritual faith to great courage;
■From courage to liberty;
■From liberty to abundance;
■From abundance to complacency;
■From complacency to apathy; <== I have reached apathy. How about you?
■From apathy to dependence;
■From dependence back into bondage.

 

[Chris]

Is there going to be a test on this material?

 

[clayinaustin]

Is there going to be a test on this material?

Yes! It's called an ELECTION! :dupe:

 

[fund razor]

The Roman notion of democracy was based on the concept of the citizen, and the citizen was someone who had responsibilities to the state, rather than depending on the state.

 

[phragle]

as for a dictatorship..the key is not is great leader, it is an extemely large group of followers........

 

[clayinaustin]

The Roman notion of democracy was based on the concept of the citizen, and the citizen was someone who had responsibilities to the state, rather than depending on the state.

True, but 1) not everyone was a "citizen". Many people living in the Roman empire had no rights at all. And 2) Rome went from a democracy to an oligarchy.

As quoted earlier... Oligarchies are much more common than true Democracies and for a good reason: Power is something people want to hold on to and pass it down only to their own families or trusted heirs.

 

[Tom A.]

This thread requires too much thought! We need more Claymates!

 

[clayinaustin]

This thread requires too much thought! We need more Claymates!

:sifone:

 

[Dude! Sweet!]

The word "anarchy" has a negative connotation, but frankly, at it's simplest form it's a lack of a compulsory centralized goverment. Now what you do with it from there is your own business...

 

[Dude! Sweet!]

■From bondage to spiritual faith;
■From spiritual faith to great courage;
■From courage to liberty;
■From liberty to abundance;
■From abundance to complacency;
■From complacency to apathy; <== I have reached apathy. How about you?
■From apathy to dependence;
■From dependence back into bondage.

Bondage is hot, but hey, what the F do I care... :sifone:

 

[cuda]

as for a dictatorship..the key is not is great leader, it is an extemely large group of followers........

A cult of personality.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZ5SVDYBNrY

Anyone know who is speaking at the begining of this song?

 

[Dude! Sweet!]

A cult of personality.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZ5SVDYBNrY

Anyone know who is speaking at the begining of this song?

Josef Gobbels?