|
ridery99
|
|
December 23, 2015, 09:21:46 PM |
|
Soon only homosexuals and corporate CEOs have right to have opinions or vote.
|
|
|
|
Balthazar
Legendary
Offline
Activity: 3108
Merit: 1359
|
|
December 23, 2015, 09:51:17 PM |
|
Hm, american democracy, what is this? Is this somehow related to NSA mass surveillance or Guantanamo concentration camp?
|
|
|
|
Spendulus
Legendary
Offline
Activity: 2912
Merit: 1386
|
|
December 23, 2015, 10:30:25 PM |
|
The thesis that the growing inequality since the eighties is allowing a few people to determine in great measure the candidates from (especially) the Republican party...
You mean like they picked Hillary? Wait, that's not Republican... Wait, the Republican rank and file have revolted against the "picks of the few..." So what the fuck you talking about, dude?
|
|
|
|
|
Trading (OP)
Legendary
Offline
Activity: 1455
Merit: 1033
Nothing like healthy scepticism and hard evidence
|
|
December 27, 2015, 11:11:31 PM |
|
|
|
|
|
Beliathon
|
|
December 28, 2015, 08:10:18 AM |
|
Capitalism consumes democracy as fire consumes oxygen. We will all suffocate if we fail to revolt / recreate / transcend the neofeudal structural genocide in which we live.
|
|
|
|
Snail2
Legendary
Offline
Activity: 1512
Merit: 1000
|
|
December 28, 2015, 10:11:23 AM |
|
The thesis that the growing inequality since the eighties is allowing a few people to determine in great measure the candidates from (especially) the Republican party, and also their political agenda (rejecting that climate change has a human cause, rejecting any increase in taxes for the richest, defending the annulment of measures to regulate financial markets adopted after 2008, etc.), thanks to their financial capacity that allows them to pay huge contributions to the candidates that adopt their agenda is old.
I think this problem isn't limited to the republicans. The same thing applies to the democrats as well, with a different political agenda. Actually you find the same issues in all western type representative democracies without a single exception. Without making party finance and donations 100% transparent (what is more or less impossible) you have no chance to deal with these issues. This is how plutocracy/oligarchy working.
|
|
|
|
criptix
Legendary
Offline
Activity: 2464
Merit: 1145
|
|
December 28, 2015, 12:49:43 PM |
|
The thesis that the growing inequality since the eighties is allowing a few people to determine in great measure the candidates from (especially) the Republican party, and also their political agenda (rejecting that climate change has a human cause, rejecting any increase in taxes for the richest, defending the annulment of measures to regulate financial markets adopted after 2008, etc.), thanks to their financial capacity that allows them to pay huge contributions to the candidates that adopt their agenda is old.
I think this problem isn't limited to the republicans. The same thing applies to the democrats as well, with a different political agenda. Actually you find the same issues in all western type representative democracies without a single exception. Without making party finance and donations 100% transparent (what is more or less impossible) you have no chance to deal with these issues. This is how plutocracy/oligarchy working. Imho that is only partly correct. There are measures you can take to avoid this massive lobbying. For example the german voting system: the different parties are getting tax money for their campaigns depending on how much votes they get. There is free time on tv and other stuff.
|
|
|
|
Snail2
Legendary
Offline
Activity: 1512
Merit: 1000
|
|
December 28, 2015, 01:37:33 PM |
|
Imho that is only partly correct. There are measures you can take to avoid this massive lobbying. For example the german voting system: the different parties are getting tax money for their campaigns depending on how much votes they get. There is free time on tv and other stuff.
As far as I know parties in Germany are also accepting corporate and private donations. Until they doing that nobody can guarantee their independence. Lobbies in Germany just as strong as everywhere else.
|
|
|
|
criptix
Legendary
Offline
Activity: 2464
Merit: 1145
|
|
December 28, 2015, 02:31:52 PM |
|
Imho that is only partly correct. There are measures you can take to avoid this massive lobbying. For example the german voting system: the different parties are getting tax money for their campaigns depending on how much votes they get. There is free time on tv and other stuff.
As far as I know parties in Germany are also accepting corporate and private donations. Until they doing that nobody can guarantee their independence. Lobbies in Germany just as strong as everywhere else. Yes that is sadly correct too. It wasn't my intention to deny it. I just wanted to point out there exist measures in other nations that help reduce the power of "big money".
|
|
|
|
Daniel91
Legendary
Offline
Activity: 3374
Merit: 1824
|
|
December 28, 2015, 03:56:03 PM |
|
I think that in modern democracy and political system is impossible to separate political campaign from money support. Money is everything now and can buy influence in media, brainwash people with strong and expensive propaganda, create events which helps politicians etc. Politic really become dirty job in modern time but it seems it's to late to change it now. If you have enough money you can buy all of them so it seems there are no real independent politicians in western world. To sad reality.
|
|
|
|
bitsmichel
|
|
December 28, 2015, 07:24:26 PM |
|
o a Re: Is inequality and money hijacking the American Democracy?
To a large extend yes. Politicians can be bought or seduced and corporations have been hijacking our democracy for a while.
|
|
|
|
BADecker
Legendary
Offline
Activity: 3920
Merit: 1373
|
|
December 28, 2015, 09:25:39 PM |
|
Capitalism consumes democracy as fire consumes oxygen. We will all suffocate if we fail to revolt / recreate / transcend the neofeudal structural genocide in which we live.
Free trade is the thing that gives the average person the incentive to excel. It is the hope of finding riches that pushes people to dig all the wonderful technology out of nature that nature has within itself. It is the further marketing of those technologies that lets us all enjoy new things with more leisure time.
|
|
|
|
bitsmichel
|
|
December 28, 2015, 10:45:44 PM |
|
Capitalism consumes democracy as fire consumes oxygen. We will all suffocate if we fail to revolt / recreate / transcend the neofeudal structural genocide in which we live.
Free trade is the thing that gives the average person the incentive to excel. It is the hope of finding riches that pushes people to dig all the wonderful technology out of nature that nature has within itself. It is the further marketing of those technologies that lets us all enjoy new things with more leisure time. I'm skeptical that capitalism consumes democracy. Money in itself is a 'vote'. The problem is not enough freedom. Let me explain: Free trade gives people the ability to improve their lives. Modern life does not have free trade because the money gets stuck in the institutions and governments forbid free trade (economic boycott, slow bank transfers, corruption at al). This is why bitcoin will gives us a breath of freedom for a while (as Satoshi said).
|
|
|
|
Trading (OP)
Legendary
Offline
Activity: 1455
Merit: 1033
Nothing like healthy scepticism and hard evidence
|
|
February 10, 2016, 11:49:29 PM |
|
The main problem is indeed the way parties obtain its financial resources.
In some countries the money comes mainly from the state budget. Each party receives money in proportion to the number of votes it gets and there are mandatory limits for the amounts each can spend in the electoral campaign.
But paying parties with tax money doesn't look very sound.
But there should be mandatory limits on the electoral expenses and on each donation. Probably, corporations shouldn't be allow to donate to parties, since they have no political rights. The only explanation for a corporation to pay money to a party is getting political leverage and that is close to corruption.
|
|
|
|
adverbelly
|
|
February 11, 2016, 12:48:19 PM |
|
Hm, american democracy, what is this? Is this somehow related to NSA mass surveillance or Guantanamo concentration camp?
yes .. this is the true definiton of american democracy.. congrats..
|
|
|
|
Trading (OP)
Legendary
Offline
Activity: 1455
Merit: 1033
Nothing like healthy scepticism and hard evidence
|
|
February 23, 2016, 05:23:05 AM |
|
The ruling of the Federal Supreme Court on unlimited political donations to parties is a major problem. Maybe now with Scalia gone and a new less conservative judge on his place the Supreme will elaborate on this rule.
The so-called "everything goes" in the name of freedom usually means that the powerful will oppress the weak under the benevolent watch of the State.
|
|
|
|
designerusa
Legendary
Offline
Activity: 2310
Merit: 1028
|
|
February 23, 2016, 06:27:49 PM |
|
Hm, american democracy, what is this? Is this somehow related to NSA mass surveillance or Guantanamo concentration camp?
yes .. this is the true definiton of american democracy.. congrats.. you dont know anything about american democracy.. it is best of all so called democracy all over the world but i agree a point that something must be done for the wrong parts of it..
|
|
|
|
Trading (OP)
Legendary
Offline
Activity: 1455
Merit: 1033
Nothing like healthy scepticism and hard evidence
|
|
February 26, 2016, 07:38:09 PM |
|
Like many Democracies, the American Political System has some strong and weak aspects:
1) Real freedom of expression and of political activity (except if you are communist, as a heritage of the sad McCarthy period, and recent repression on matters of State secrets).
2) Great system of direct choice of the presidential candidates of the major parties.
3) Strong and independent judicial system and some positive aspects of the trial by jury, even if the practice of electing people with responsibilities on the judicial system can have some weak aspects.
1) Major economic inequality.
2) As stated on the OP, this inequality is having political consequences on the quality of the American Democracy.
3) Weak social protection of poor people (for instance, health protection of the poor, even after the Obama reformations, is still incomplete).
4) A social culture of violence and, in reaction, massive penal repression, including abusive use of the death penalty (I wouldn't like to live in a country where the State only needs a good pretext to kill me). The USA has almost 1% of its population jailed. That is crazy compared with Europeans numbers.
5) Still some problems of racial discrimination, even if the USA is still far to be the worst Democracy with this problem.
6) Some periods of abusive external policy, recently, especially under republican administrations. But in the past, the democrats weren't better. Of course, any country in the world, probably including the Europeans, would do the same or even worst if they had the power the USA has. Power has always ruined the legitimacy of every external policy.
|
|
|
|
|