--- Carrol Cox <cbcox at ilstu.edu> wrote:
> This is not evidence of any deficiency in the
> people; it is evidence
> that elections are a bad way to run a society.
>
[WS:] Deficiency as comparing to what? Every society has a set of shared norms and beliefs - they are what they are, merely a reflection of certain historical circmustances that sheped them (or being that determines consciousness, if you will.) They are neither deficient nor flawless, merely more or less consistent with a codified set of beliefs aka doctrines or ideologies. Calling that inconsistency "deficiency" is but an opinionated value judgment.
It happened that the set of values held by large segments of the US populace includes jingoism, flag-waving, US-centrism, belief in the supernatural, reverence for wealth and celebrity, individualism and contempt for governmenrt, large organizations, the so called "high culture" and learning. This can be evidenced, inter alia, by bumper stickers on parking lots of such establishments like Wal-Mart or bowling alleys.
This is not the set of values that is consistent with the codified systems of beliefs known as "socialism" or "social democracy" or for that matter one that I find particularly appealing. But they are no more "deficient" than, say, buckwheat or pigs feet. I find them disgusting, but others love them.
As to equating democracy and elections - you are right on the money. This, btw, is Aristotle's contribution to political theory - he considers election based system, which he called "democracy," a perverted form of the rule by many, and contratsed it with the constitutional form of government by many (baed on reason and common good) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_(Aristotle). I think this applies to the US - it is a "democracy" in the Aristotelian sense, i.e. a perverted form of government by many.
Wojtek
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