<!doctype html public "-//W3C//DTD W3 HTML//EN"> <html><head><style type="text/css"></style><title>Re: Liberal democarcy (Was Re: [lbo-talk] Gulag query)</title></head><body> <div>At 9:37 AM -0700 25/4/03, andie nachgeborenen wrote:</div> <div><br></div> <blockquote type="cite" cite> <blockquote><font size="-1">No. Actually the first state to have universal suffrage was the Soviet Union. "Competitive" elections inb Germany wereinhibited by the anti-Socialist Laws, and political rights were accordingly limited. Wilhemine Germany wasn't a dictatorship or an autocracy like Russia, but it was nor a liberal democracy. it was probably more like modern Iran.</font></blockquote> </blockquote> <div><br></div> <div>I believe the colony of South Australia had universal suffrage prior to Australian federation (1901). Aborigines lost the right to vote, indeed they lost citizenship entirely, upon federation and did not regain rights until 1967. This was originally due to a fear in the eastern states that Western Australia in particular, with its large aboriginal population, might abuse the system. (Though deep-rooted Australian racism played an important part too, obviously.) Prior to federation, South Australian aborigines and women had gained the right to vote in that jurisdiction. I can't recall whether one or both of these groups also had the right to stand for election, perhaps someone can remind me?</div> <div><br></div> <div>You might want to nit-pick that South Australia was a British colony prior to federation, rather than a "state", but it had its own parliament and was substantially self-governing. As self-governing as Australia after federation anyhow.</div> <div><br></div> <div>Since the Soviet Union only came into existence in 1917, your suggestion that it was the first state to have universal suffrage might be somewhat misleading.</div> <div><br></div> <div>Bill Bartlett</div> <div>Bracknell Tas</div> </body> </html>