OT - is Democracy the right way to go?

Again I'd say no , you'd be returning to a form of serfdom , not that I think we're that far off that type of politic in all honesty . I think the bigger problem is when big business and government work in tandem with each other to make money with no say so from the general population . Politics across Europe over the last 30 years has in my opinion been very patronising . Treaty after treaty signed off with the narrative that we ll all get rich from them but a quick look at the numbers says otherwise .

 

I understand where you're coming from and, if I'm being honest, I also despair at some of the idiots in society being allowed the vote.

But let's not kid ourselves. I consider myself to be a reasonable intelligent bloke, and I thought I had a fair idea of how the world worked. And yet if the last 2 years have taught me anything, it's that I actually know very little. My knowledge about the EU, the UK government , and the wider world has grown enormously these 2 years, but it's still just the tip of the iceberg. If we're going to start depriving people of the vote, you'd have to set the bar so high that few of us would be eligible.

Then there's the matter of "I pay my taxes, I'm allowed a say in things". Unless you were prepared to sweeten things with some kind of tax rebate for non-voters, you'd never get people to swallow it. (I'm talking about taxes in their widest sense, not just PAYE).

 

Personally, I think the biggest problem is the pure amount of lies that are just propagated and repeated by those in positions of power and their supporting media. Just over the last few months we have had tropes about GATT A24, Lisbon 2020, 87% of imports by value being tariff free will reduce costs to the consumer, and the latest one appears to be using the Vienna Convention A62 to get out of the backstop unilaterally (all are incorrect). As Jonathan Swift wrote in 1710 "Falsehood flies, and the Truth comes limping after it". We can see this in America with Trump and with various politicians over here (Rees-Mogg and Johnson are particularly bad).

Personally, I think we really need an independent ethics committee that has the power to suspend MPs and force by-elections for repeat offenders, and in extreme cases, prosecution with the threat of imprisonment. MPs would also be unable to make money from any alternate source during their time in office.

I also like the idea of newspapers having to print retractions in the exact same pages and size as the original incorrect article. It does not have to be the same typeface, but just think how it would look if they used 1 paragraph in 8pt font on an otherwise empty front page.

 

Ar... the first law of socialism, get rid of any kind of morality... Following in the footsteps of the greats. You know.. Adolf, Starling Pol Pot...
You used to come on here and write this kind of **** under a different name didn't you..

 

Isn’t that how Hitler got started?

 

I'm really surprised that anyone could even entertain the idea that only a certain type of person could have the vote.
Million upon millions have died worldwide for the right for everyone in society to have the right to put the cross in the box.
The Labour Party in particular was formed to help the lowliest man or woman in the street
have the vote that can influence who governs them and how. Let's not forget it's only a hundred years ago that Women won the right to vote....who now would dare to propagate the idea that only certain women, those that have somehow reached the required intellectual standard could vote?
Universal suffrage may be inconvenient at times...depending on your point of view, but to seek to disenfranchise people because you are worried they may vote the 'wrong ' way is undoubtedly a preposterous idea, the political equivalent of ethnic cleansing....not based on ethnicity but on some idea of intellectual superiority.
What would anyone on this board think if they were one of those who didn't make the cut insofar as reaching the standard required?

 

The people that " it breaks my heart to see"... I know here's a idea, we could round them all up and put em in a "work camp" With "Work sets you free" over the gate. Like your National Socialist for fathers did..

If you want to stop people voting.. start with yourself. You absolute, dangerous fcuktard.

 

Ok.

 

Ok.

 

Can you grow mine while you're at it?

 

A very dangerous idea.
What next? Those with a history of mental illness can't be allowed to vote? Those with a Criminal record? The offspring of those who have? Those with a limited knowledge of English? The unemployed?

What he said with huge great bells on!

 

I do find it amusing that some people equate Epistocracy with fascism?

Top and bottom of it is, some people don't deserve a vote simply because they don't have the capacity to make a decision as huge as the direction of an entire nation.

Saw a lass yesterday, she put her empty crisp packet on top of a bin on one the windiest days of the year and the packet blew away. Now, her brain knows that the rubbish has something to do with the bin, but she obviously didn't know the exact specifics of the rubbish/bin relationship. That, to me epitomises what's wrong with pretty much everything at the minute.

We let people who either don't care or don't understand carve out our path both on the domestic and international stage.

Too right some people shouldn't vote, loads of them if you ask me. That's not fascism or discrimination, it's science.

 

Could do but the air miles might be a bit un-environmentally friendly

 

We don't let everyone over the age of 17 drive. We give them the opportunity to learn to drive. Some people are incapable of passing the test, some people are physically or mentally unable to drive, some people use medication that makes it dangerous for them to drive, some people have serious accidents and choose not to drive afterwards, etc. Should someone diagnosed with dementia or registered as blind be able to drive? Should someone that breaks the driving laws?

Is there a problem with adults having to take a small (few hours) course that covers the basics of UK democracy, how the party system works, local and other elections, and have to pass a test before they are allowed to vote? With a refresher test every 10-20 years.

 

Gally can you check this out please. Was Adolf ever a member?

 

Ah but who would set the questions?

 

We let people who either don't care or don't understand carve out our path both on the domestic and international stage.

I agree with you on that bit of your post vesp , hence the rise in the down and out people your quick to pour scorn on .