Thread: US added to list of backsliding democracies for first time

US added to list of ‘backsliding’ democracies for first time | US news | The Guardian

Some might argue that it's past time.


"The US has been added to an annual list of “backsliding” democracies for the first time, the International IDEA thinktank has said, pointing to a “visible deterioration” it said began in 2019."

They typed 2016 wrong

I reckon the only reason it took this long is because it's the USA. Well, things certainly change.

Both probably right

US added to list of ‘backsliding’ democracies for first time | US news | The Guardian

comments on the article are especially welcome when made by the sneering, privileged and virtue signalling hypocrites who have made the difficult life choice of leaving established democracies to take up residence in dictatorships where the electoral process is a joke, free speech and human rights are non existent, and extreme corruption and racism are endemic yet are too cowardly to dare to openly criticise the systems they exist under.

^

Oh yes.

the difficult life choice of leaving established democracies to take up residence in dictatorships where the electoral process is a joke

Well I admit I did leave Thailand for Australia- but it wasn't difficult.

Originally Posted by taxexile

comments on the article are especially welcome when made by the sneering, privileged and virtue signalling hypocrites who have made the difficult life choice of leaving established democracies to take up residence in dictatorships where the electoral process is a joke, free speech and human rights are non existent, and extreme corruption and racism are endemic yet are too cowardly to dare to openly criticise the systems they exist under.

Originally Posted by Buckaroo Banzai

but the bipolar two party system in the US is rife for such abuse .
IMO the democratic political system in the US is not backsliding . It slid, and is flat on it's back.

Spot on. The two party system is an abject failure at this point.

Siri,

Show me someone who is mad at life...

Originally Posted by taxexile

comments on the article are especially welcome when made by the sneering, privileged and virtue signalling hypocrites who have made the difficult life choice of leaving established democracies to take up residence in dictatorships where the electoral process is a joke, free speech and human rights are non existent, and extreme corruption and racism are endemic yet are too cowardly to dare to openly criticise the systems they exist under.

Tax nailed it.

When Chico's got your back...

Originally Posted by Chico

Tax nailed it.

Yeah, nah.

He didn't.

To be fair though I don't think Chico actually understood a single word he said.

Originally Posted by Chico

Tax nailed it.

Explain to us, in your own words, what he actually said . . . Taxidriver has put on his smeg-hat and went on another 'Thaiophile' rant.

Originally Posted by Norton

Two parties or ten parties really matters not the problem with US politics has more to do with what Ben Franklin warned about in 1787.

Chicken and egg. Almost any other nation on earth has multi-party elections where coalitions are formed to stop the excess of one. If the US had three or four major parties or 2/2 minor ones the situation would be different.

Originally Posted by panama hat

Chicken and egg. Almost any other nation on earth has multi-party elections where coalitions are formed to stop the excess of one. If the US had three or four major parties or 2/2 minor ones the situation would be different.

Agree. At one time the US had several parties but to it's detrement only 2 prevail. What is needed is a constitution change to mandate proportional representation for Presidential elections and of course for congressional elections. Then a better chance of getting a Congress of different parties.

Originally Posted by Norton

"On Saturday, June 2, 1787, Ben Franklin took the floor at the Constitutional Convention as a skeptic. Franklin feared that greed-driven competition for the presidency would divide the new American government into factions. He warned,

There are two passions which have a powerful influence on the affairs of men. These are ambition and avarice; the love of power, and the love of money. ...Place before the eyes of such men a post of honor, that shall be at the same time a place of profit, and they will move heaven and earth to obtain it. The vast number of such places ...renders the British government so tempestuous...[and is the true source] of all those factions which are perpetually dividing the nation [and] distracting its councils."

Well 'ole Ben certainly did call it didn't he.

Originally Posted by Hugh Cow

How well does the system work in NZ.

MMP so arguably better and more proportional representation than two-party however it can (and has) caused scenarios where a minority party effectively gets to crown the new king.

I guess the lesson is that there's no such thing as the perfect democracy (contrasted of course to places where even imperfect democracy is in decline).

Originally Posted by Hugh Cow

How well does the system work in NZ.

It seems to work quite well . . . too well considering what this government is doing - but they were given the mandate to govern . . . and don't have to use a coalition, though they do with the Greens.

The Dems had it right . . . 'Keep the bastards honest', said Don Chipp . . . and that is how it should be.

Originally Posted by AntRobertson

MMP so arguably better and more proportional representation than two-party however it can (and has) caused scenarios where a minority party effectively gets to crown the new king.

And that third party, a certain señor Winston Peters stopped the excesses of both left and right wing . . . sadly there's no such party to do that now.

democracy has neared the end of its life, more so in multi ethnic and diverse societies where every minority is crying out and demanding its slice of the cake as proscribed by the liberal human rights legislation that has developed over the past 50 years, and where the majority view is struggling for the dominance it once enjoyed.

dissatisfaction with the system becomes the norm and society becomes even more fractured as liberal democratic governments will struggle to exert the control over society necessary to effect strong and effective government.
properly.

homogenous societies with fewer competing groups are better suited to democratic governance, whilst diverse societies where everyone demands their piece of the cake are slowly and inexorably moving towards a more dictatorial approach, (especially when the pieces of cake are overlapping each other, populations are increasing and schools, housing, healthcare, and other services are insufficient and inefficient) that can better control society.

look at china, a terrible system you might think, but over the past 40 years it has dragged its people out of poverty, educated the uneducated, and changed by brilliant planning from a primitive slum into a wealthy country with magnificent infrastructure and facilities. like it or not, it is a dictatorship that has been very successful. they are the cleverest people on the planet. their economic success was planned decades ago and has worked a treat. like every other species on the planet, they seek to dominate, survival of the fittest and all that, and these days fitness equates to economic success.

for the increasingly weak west, with the so called "fairness and equality" of their outdated democracies, the good times are soon to be history. democracy is failing and the west is regressing. equality and fairness are desirable in theory but the reality is that they are a utopian dream, in the end we all sing to natures tune and that means the survival of the fittest.

in a world of rapidly rising populations, and with the rapidly decreasing resources, food and services needed to service that population only the strongest will survive and the strongest are the chinese.

democracy? i give you another 30 years, but the world is a nastier place now, too many people and not enough stuff to go round, the fighting for territory and resources is only just starting, so it was nice knowing you, but off you go now, see ya!

Originally Posted by taxexile

democracy has neared the end of its life, more so in multi ethnic and diverse societies where every minority is crying out and demanding its slice of the cake as proscribed by the liberal human rights legislation that has developed over the past 50 years, and where the majority view is struggling for the dominance it once enjoyed.

Mighty White of you.