Owen Swart commented on the reaction to the Zapiro cartoon today. He points out that rather than refuting the accusation, the alliance parties are attacking the cartoonist, his editor, and the press. He also points out that their current statements contradict earlier ones.
This got me wondering. How long before someone starts tracking political statements, and checking them for consistency? Politicians make many different promises to different constituent groups, but when they get elected, they seem to do just whatever they want.
Our level of technology is getting to the point where it will be possible for people to vote in daily referendums on issues that will affect them. Rather than using the crude method of voting for someone who can only poorly represent what you believe in, you can directly vote on issues.
There’s big talk about e-Government, but that’s just about bringing bureaucracy into the internet age. Nobody’s questioning the basic system of government we’ve got going.
I don’t know if I can trust the people to rule wisely, but I know that I don’t trust politicians to do so.
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Indeed. Every time I ponder this question I come back the Starship Troopers democratic system, where the people must earn the right to become “citizens”, and thereby the right to vote.
My assumption is that anyone with the desire to earn that title is probably more qualified to vote than just any idiot off the street.
Basically I think that tyranny by the few over the many is wrong. But isn’t the tyranny by the many over the few also wrong?
What I want to know is why the right to autonomy and self-determination doesn’t immediately give everybody the right to secede?
I believe it’s an important question, because more and more people are dissatisfied with their government, but there’s no easy way out. I think there should be.
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