>And Singapore is a bourgeois democratic country governed by laws, not
classes.
Are you being facetious? Singapore is in fact a totalitarian police state.
Bill Bartlett Bracknell Tas
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A bit of tongue in cheek, Bill. Bourgeois democracies are as varied as Marxist-Leninist dictatorships in the ways "rule of the people" is practiced. For example Singapore:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elections_in_Singapore
Different from Australia, to be sure... But then, Cuba is different from the DPRK.
Class rule does differ in harshness around the world. It's still class rule though. Some bearded guy once quipped that the existence of the State was inseparable from the existence of slavery. I tend to agree with his observation. Obviously, the conditions of slavery vary within the political confines of the various States as does the levels of sadism involed in the domination of one master class to another master class. Not being a masochist and also not having the power to change things all by myself, I prefer to live in States where less sadistic forms of class rule are practiced. Still, one should try to push the wheel of history as much as one can--progress towards greater conditions of freedom for all and so on... Abolition of the death penalty (aka premeditated murder) is a step in that direction.
Regards, Mike B)
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