The Constitution was an elaborate workaround for democracy. And still, in just a couple centuries, they have trashed the USA. Yes, we have more wealth and technology, but social order and quality of everything has declined, and now we’re at mob rule with imported voters basically dictating to the rest of us that we must have Leftists.
What system can’t be abused?
This observation contains two points: (1) there is no perfect method and (2) systems make abuse easier, because they create formalized targets.
Many of us turn to aristocracy for this reason. No formal targets, only a social hierarchy by mental and moral excellence.
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Aristocracy, or rule by a few, does give targets in the form of aristocrats. And how do you ensure that these aristocrats are mentally and morally excellent, exactly? Communism could work great in theory, too, but reality begs to differ.
No targets? Then who were all those folks in tumbrels being led off to an appointment with Madame Guillotine? Moral and mental excellence? The cliche of toffs is modestly inbred twits, and the scandal-sheets are rife with stories about moral failing. They themselves have written about their personal moral failings for CENTURIES! The Marquis de Sade? Baron von Sacher-Masoch? Any of the old Italian works concerning cicibeos or similar stories about English folk with mistresses and favored males?
You don't get to be the upper class, you'll be a slave like the rest.
What has our modern life given us? Sure, we have a higher standard of living, live longer, more peaceful lives, and have lots of individual freedom, but there are people who disagree with us!
Let's burn it all down, and return to the Middle Ages.
Well, if Democracy destroys the right-wing, then I'd say it's done it's job.
Certainly if you think Donald Fart is 'Excellent'. [/Boris 'Bozo the Clown' Johnson]
...so you'll be giving back the Statue of Liberty to France: Post -Revolution...?!
Fine, as long as you allow a council of atheist scientists to completely control the breeding and education of said aristocrats. They'll be selecting the initial stock of aristos, too; the old batch is unimpressive.
now we’re at mob rule with imported voters basically dictating to the rest of us that we must have Leftists.
Waaah, the majority doesn't agree with "the rest of us", so this democracy stuff sucks.
social order and quality of everything has declined
Yeah, them Leftists even let the nigras use our rest rooms and drinking fountains!
"What system can’t be abused? [...] Many of us turn to aristocracy for this reason. No formal targets, only a social hierarchy by mental and moral excellence-"
All the way back to Aristoteles, political philosophers knew that, just like monarchy and democracy, aristocracies inevitably degenerate - sooner or later (usually sooner), the ranks of the Aristoi would not actually be filled by the Best and most virtuous, but by corrupt and decadent people with no actual qualifications, ruling as an oligocracy. The solution would be to implement a hybrid system incorporating elements of monarchy, aristocracy and democracy (in the example of Rome: Consuls - monarchy, Senate - aristocracy, Popular asssembly - democracy), a concept that is still followed in modern representative democracies.
The Constitution is what kept you from completely trashing the US, like making it into a theocracy.
Quality of life is also better now than a couple of centuries ago.
You were at mob rule with imported voters from the day Mayflower anchored at th shore, perhaps even earlier than that...
You're dictating to the rest of them that you must have Rightists.
You think the aristocracy is a hierarchy by mental and moral excellence?
Bwaaaaaahaaaa *deep breath* aaaaahaaaaahaa...
It might begin like that, but soon it's a rule of the privileged, rather than the best qualified.
No formal targets, only a social hierarchy by mental and moral excellence.
No; you have "aristocracy" confused with "meritocracy." The point about aristocracy is that a prince has what they called in the Middle Ages, "two bodies": the prince's physical personhood; and the political powers and responsibilities of that come with being prince. That is why, in an aristocracy, when the heir to a pure, earnest and brilliant prince is a wretched, inbred moron, both are treated as having the same right to be prince.
Many of us turn to aristocracy for this reason. No formal targets, only a social hierarchy by mental and moral excellence.
True. The FIRST generation of aristocrats, as we saw in history, had many brilliant, skilled, talented individuals. But that doesn't guarantee their kids would be as good as they were. And then over the centuries, they devolved into the parasitic class we know them as now.
Target? That's exactly who the aristocracy were. And thankfully back in the day, we purged their power ruthlessly.
" (1) there is no perfect method and (2) systems make abuse easier, because they create formalized targets.
Many of us turn to aristocracy for this reason."
Because an aristocracy could never be a target.
Confused?
So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!
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