Things You May Not Know About The Constitution

There is no mention of "democracy" in the Constitution. In fact, the United States of America isn't a true democracy; it's a republic, which is how the framers intended it.

In a pure democracy, the people make decisions directly. In a republic, the people make decisions indirectly, via representatives. The men at the Convention believed pure democracy to be a dangerous form of government [source: This Nation].
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See? SEE?!?! I TOLD ya! :playful:

I remember our 6[SUP]th[/SUP] grade field trip to Washington and how our teacher was oohing and ahhing over the Constitution, and I was busy chasing Donna Salerno around the National Archives ...

I told Miss Minkin "Hey, you celebrate your freedom YOUR way and I'll celebrate mine in MY way!"
 
After an arduous week long 'debate' with an Anarchist on a now defunct forum I, and he, came to the conclusion that Democracy and Anarchy are really pretty close. The pure form of Anarchy that is, not the lawless version that has become the common perception of it due to the balaclava wearing, placard wielding, vandalising types who use anarchy as an excuse to burn cars.

Taken to it's basic level it just means rule by each community autonomously, to suit it's own particular needs, and not under the blanket rule of a remote government.

It's just grass roots Democracy really. Problem with it is that it can't work at higher than village population density and at a basically very low expectation and acceptance level of lifestyle.

The Kalahari Bushmen, and to great extent the Australian Aborigine lived as 'Anarchists'. Everything belonged to the tribe, not to individuals. Laws were formulated to suit the survival of the tribe and no other tribe had a say in it.
Worked brilliantly for them until they discovered there was more than sticks and clubs to 'own' and other people were having a better time, and then it all went pear-shaped.

The hard rules of merely surviving in lethally hard landscapes may have appeared to give them those wonderful concepts of caring and sharing but under it all, simmering away, was good ole' human nature. As soon as something better turned up the old 'gimme that 'cos I want it' genes woke from dormancy and they were on the road to ... shudder... Government.

That fella,....
Patrick Henry, a prominent figure in the American Revolution ("Give me liberty, or give me death"), was offered a role in the drafting of the country's constitution, but he decided not to participate. He later explained, "I smelt a rat."
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..... was soooo right.

We don't have a big thing about our Constitution, strictly speaking it's more an instruction and guide manual than a set in stone part of life the way it is in the States. There wouldn't be more than a handful who have ever bothered to even look at it. I don't remember it ever mentioned when I was at school. In fact it wasn't until fairly recently that I found out we even had one. The subject just never came up.
Warri would have known, she's into that kind of thing, it never interested me.

Now there's another thing that differentiates our cultural outlooks.
 

Diwundrin said:
After an arduous week long 'debate' with an Anarchist on a now defunct forum I, and he, came to the conclusion that Democracy and Anarchy are really pretty close. The pure form of Anarchy that is, not the lawless version that has become the common perception of it due to the balaclava wearing, placard wielding, vandalising types who use anarchy as an excuse to burn cars.

Taken to it's basic level it just means rule by each community autonomously, to suit it's own particular needs, and not under the blanket rule of a remote government.
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Being a Taoist I'm naturally drawn to anarchy as a social construct, but as you said the perception of what anarchy truly is has become so warped that I don't usually advertise my beliefs publicly. Too many stones thrown to make it worth my while.

basefare said:
I think we are becoming a plutocracy.
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I think you're 100% right. ;)
 
I think that plutocracy is the natural default programming of the human race.
It's been ever thus really hasn't it?

Wealth can be measured by different standards, be it the most clamshells, or the influence accrued by a Shaman to dispense cures and curses according to who benefits his power base, through warlords looting their wealth at the point of a sword to Feudal lords 'owning' their serfs, right up to our later vision of Scrooge McDuck's vault and it's power to 'buy' the World.
It always amounted to the same thing. Them that has 'it' make the rules. Wealth buys power and/or Power accrues wealth.

We can kid ourselves that we've reached a higher plane of evolution and egalitarian principles all we like but I can't think of any system of Government that hasn't eventually defaulted back to a central power base of the few. Even Communism basically works on that system.

It seems to be just the way we're wired, and realistically, someone has to be the dishwasher and clean the toilets.
 
I have no problem cleaning the toilets because then I pretty much control them, and can put Saran Wrap over the seats any time I desire.

Hey, it worked for MasterBlaster - he ruled Bartertown, and he did it in the middle of pig poop. :highly_amused:
 
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