Democracy

[swiftblade]

I was listening to Stephen Fry this morning on radio 4 talking about the use of language and he said something that made me think. He said that banning words would be undemocratic. Now, we know that he is a very intelligent man, but I wonder why people so often misuse the word democratic or undemocratic.

Democracy is a system of government based on

Comments

[kol]

A democracy that decides that it will no longer be influenced by its people is no longer a democracy. So while the democratic process could be used to ban language, the result would be something that is a democracy in name only.

[swiftblade]

This is my point though, if 51% of people want it to be so, isn't that a democracy? What makes those 51% have to act in the best interest of the other 49%?

[xavin]

"...if 51% of people want it to be so, isn't that a democracy?"

No - it's something that used to be a democracy, which has democratically decided to stop being one.

[swiftblade]

Explain. Why can a democracy not be corrupt and unjust? Surely a democracy is about the will of the majority, and if they act disfavourably to the minority then it is still a democracy is it not?

Why do public figures and the press associate democracy with all these positive terms automatically?

Cynical but Probably True

[tatty_tigermoth]

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

Winston Churchill

Re: Cynical but Probably True

[xavin]

And that the best argument against democracy is 5 minutes conversation with the average voter.

Also Churchill.

Re: Cynical but Probably True

[swiftblade]

Hehe, something I've often thought myself.

[mr_kobayashi]

He's wrong. Its not undemocratic. Its political. There is a difference. Either way, its censorship and I think he was railing about the fact it was wrong.

[swiftblade]

Yes, the fact that its wrong is not in issue. It just sparked off my thought about democracy, what it means and what people seem to perceive that it means.