Democracy or not?

stoneill

So - based on what has happened over the last few years, the crises, the crash, the general election, the recession, the bail outs and the cap in hand to Europe, the general powerlessness of it all, the in ability to change what we feel is unjust or corrupt, do we have a democratic society in Ireland or do we just have freely elected tyrants and short term dictators?

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

Zubeneschamali

Democracy is not guaranteed to give good results, it just tends to give better results than any other system ever tried.

maccored

we just have a gullible population. tell them you'll make them richer and they'll vote in your favour.

jonniebgood1

It was Winston Churchill who stated

It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried.

In relation to the choices we have made Churchill also said

The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.

I think it is difficult to argue against either comment.

Teclo

In relation to the choices we have made Churchill also said
Quote:
The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.

ah if he could only have seen boards.ie

caseyann

stoneill wrote: »

So - based on what has happened over the last few years, the crises, the crash, the general election, the recession, the bail outs and the cap in hand to Europe, the general powerlessness of it all, the in ability to change what we feel is unjust or corrupt, do we have a democratic society in Ireland or do we just have freely elected tyrants and short term dictators?

I would say that.

Liam Byrne

stoneill wrote: »

So - based on what has happened over the last few years, the crises, the crash, the general election, the recession, the bail outs and the cap in hand to Europe, the general powerlessness of it all, the in ability to change what we feel is unjust or corrupt, do we have a democratic society in Ireland or do we just have freely elected tyrants and short term dictators?

Democracy : you don't get the government you deserve, you get the government the worst of the voters deserve, be they financial traitors or terrorist traitors.

Wider Road

Permabear wrote: »

This post had been deleted.

The choices we make are indeed extraordinary but one must ask why is that so? Why are voters continuing to bash Martin McGuinness for his IRA membership and then out of the other side of their mouth voting for the Labour Party with a TD that employ a MURDERER, a brother of a MURDERER and wait for it, FG actually supporting it!!!!!!
The silence is deafening.

charlemont

Permabear wrote: »

This post had been deleted.

I just think we have too many layers of government so it must be awkward and slow to move policy, And too much power and influence comes from large banks and corporations.

charlemont

Liam Byrne wrote: »

Democracy : you don't get the government you deserve, you get the government the worst of the voters deserve, be they financial traitors or terrorist traitors.

Or paedophile protector traitors. There was nothing democratic about the influence of the CC in this country aided and abated by FF.

Liam Byrne

charlemont wrote: »

Liam Byrne wrote: »

Democracy : you don't get the government you deserve, you get the government the worst of the voters deserve, be they financial traitors or terrorist traitors.

Or paedophile protector traitors. There was nothing democratic about the influence of the CC in this country aided and abated by FF.

Had to read that twice to see if it was a sideways reference to Norris - I guess that shows how irrelevant the "CC" has become in my life, in that the abbreviation doesn't even register unless I'm taxing my car, buying a bottle or a can, or paying the Visa card.

Dublinman12

Wider Road wrote: »

The choices we make are indeed extraordinary but one must ask why is that so? Why are voters continuing to bash Martin McGuinness for his IRA membership and then out of the other side of their mouth voting for the Labour Party with a TD that employ a MURDERER, a brother of a MURDERER and wait for it, FG actually supporting it!!!!!!
The silence is deafening.

Im not too sure what exactly you are referring to but what i can say that the fact that FG resorting to dirty tactics via newspapers and theres a troop of them on here smearing every candidate bar gay mitchell...the presidency is supposed to be above and independant of any political party...i.e. people should vote who they think is the best person for the job and not which party they are afiliated to...party politics ruined this country and Gay Mitchell hasnt a snowballs chance in hell of getting into the aras but that doesnt stop the "loyal" blueshirts doing their bit...

dvpower

charlemont wrote: »

Or paedophile protector traitors. There was nothing democratic about the influence of the CC in this country aided and abated by FF.

Nothing democratic about democratically elected councillers carrying out a constitutional role?

RichardAnd

Since the recession hit, alot of people look to the government to blame for the mess without pausing to think how that government got there. FF were actually quite honest in their dishonesty (if that makes sense). No secret was made of the trips to the Galway races, the wildly expensive trips abroad or the nepotist appointments to state bodies.

In spite of all that, FF were elected into power in three consecutive general elections and have been the dominant party for the lion's share of the states political history. Now, one has two choices when confronted with the very real evidence that FF and many other government parties are totally unsuitable for public office. They can either believe that FF somehow ousted their way into power and subjected an oppressed nation or, they can see that a venal people elected a party that is a perfect representation of their society.

The government we get will only be a representative of the population and given that incompetence, greed, dishonesty and general mediocrity are part and parcel of Irish life...well I think my point is clear enough.

Liam Byrne

RichardAnd wrote: »

Since the recession hit, alot of people look to the government to blame for the mess without pausing to think how that government got there. FF were actually quite honest in their dishonesty (if that makes sense). No secret was made of the trips to the Galway races, the wildly expensive trips abroad or the nepotist appointments to state bodies.

In spite of all that, FF were elected into power in three consecutive general elections and have been the dominant party for the lion's share of the states political history. Now, one has two choices when confronted with the very real evidence that FF and many other government parties are totally unsuitable for public office. They can either believe that FF somehow ousted their way into power and subjected an oppressed nation or, they can see that a venal people elected a party that is a perfect representation of their society.

The government we get will only be a representative of the population and given that incompetence, greed, dishonesty and general mediocrity are part and parcel of Irish life...well I think my point is clear enough.

Very true.

As I said, we get the government that voters for O'Dea, Callely, O'Donoghue, Ahern & Lowry deserve.

It begs a question, though - if the calibre coming through is ****e ( and the presidential election candidates is an example ) then does it mean (a) there aren't many decent people in Ireland (b) the decent people don't join politics (c) decent people join but don't get let through the ranks or heard or considered ( in which case you wonder why they stay with a party )

If you were to look at Ireland from outside you'd probably assume that everyone in Ireland was thick and/or corrupt.

Or am I actually being optimistic/naive and does the above apply to every single country ? With some countries starting wars for no reason, is the above a worldwide problem with very few decent people in the world in general ?