Democracy: overrated, or underrated?

@Soossie

@DonaldTrumpet

Lol.. one day you got to stop picking on him..

@SW-User I am not here to change yours. I am simply stating that if you believe that everyone should be able to vote then that is a democracy. Seriously though, if you are advocating something other than a democracy tell me what system it is and I will happily check it out.

@SW-User I didn't say everyone should be able to vote.
I said voting system should be reformed.

And right at the start I said I don't know and that is why it needs a reform. There are thinking caps in the world who can do a better job than you or I.

If you think democracy works you seem to be unaware of the mess the world is in because of it.

@SW-User It is the best system we have thought of so far. it is by no means perfect, how could it be? It is a way to mediate a diverse and competing range of peoples, opinions, ideas and cultures and it does it with minimal bloodshed and a decent approximation of equality.

There is no better existing system . Just because you hope that these 'thinking caps' may invent something better doesn't mean they will. I am pretty cynical and try not to dabble with faith.

I really believe that the world would be in a much worse state without democracy. You just have to look at the alternatives to it to know that is true.

I am not attacking you or what you believe I was just offering up my own opinion. Apologies if it was unwelcome.

@Milkshake But don't you think the most important questions are not just a matter of expertise, but also of preference? For example, there is no one "best" tax rate or "correct" level of environmental protection... even the most intelligent and well-informed people will differ on these questions because their values and priorities will differ. Why would favoring the preferences of a small group of people be preferable to asking the public? And who will choose the decision-makers, and on what basis?

@DianaKay because reason and compromising has disappeared...

for example.. build a wall to mexico and at the same time ban all guns.

or make huge efforts to stop global warming and ban abortions at the same time.

there you go.. compromises... you can do that with a few people but not enraged masses

@Milkshake In theory, representative democracy does allow for compromise because complicated questions are not put directly to the public; instead we choose the people who will work out the details. I agree with you that something seems to be going wrong right now, and that we're gravitating toward extreme and simplistic solutions. We're choosing the wrong people, and once they're in office they're driven by the wrong incentives. My fix would not be to scrap democracy altogether, but try and identify and correct what's going wrong in the culture which is producing so much polarization. Easier said than done, however...