“Democracy is the form of government in which the free are rulers” (Aristotle)
Not a lot changes, does it?
One Comment
In late August at a dinner party, four retired people who had spent their careers in international relations had an animated discussion about “spreading” democracy. Guess what stymied any progress in the exchanges: there was no agreed-upon definition of “democracy.”
I offered the definition of democracy that I had used in teaching history for 40 years: “Majority rule and minority rights, those rights being whatever is needed for groups to work toward becoming a majority.”
Today, forging a majority would at least have to include access to all types of media and that requirement alone poses stumbling block. My fine offer of a useful definition was rejected because I did not insist on “voting” as the sine qua non.
In late August at a dinner party, four retired people who had spent their careers in international relations had an animated discussion about “spreading” democracy. Guess what stymied any progress in the exchanges: there was no agreed-upon definition of “democracy.”
I offered the definition of democracy that I had used in teaching history for 40 years: “Majority rule and minority rights, those rights being whatever is needed for groups to work toward becoming a majority.”
Today, forging a majority would at least have to include access to all types of media and that requirement alone poses stumbling block. My fine offer of a useful definition was rejected because I did not insist on “voting” as the sine qua non.