Is democracy a function of economics?

[Trytostaydead]

Is democracy a function of economics? Can most countries afford to have democracy on the level of the United States? Is it right for us to try to impose it on other people? Are most of our civil liberties dependent upon an excess of capital and therefore not true civil liberties at all but merely the fact that we can afford it? So then, is democracy dependent upon the exploitation of other systems for resources to support itself by spreading capitalism and what happens when there are no more excess resources to be had?

[NapoleonGH]

the better question is, "is it desirable for a country to adopt a marginal republic like the US"


To note the US is NOT a democracy, no modern nation is. It is a Federal Republic.

[Queeb Salaron]

Umm... this should be in politics, methinks. Can a mod switch it over?

[neoolong]

Is democracy a function of economics? Can most countries afford to have democracy on the level of the United States? Is it right for us to try to impose it on other people? Are most of our civil liberties dependent upon an excess of capital and therefore not true civil liberties at all but merely the fact that we can afford it? So then, is democracy dependent upon the exploitation of other systems for resources to support itself by spreading capitalism and what happens when there are no more excess resources to be had?

1. I don't think I get what you mean by function. Necessary to economics, or a consequence or something?

2. Not really. At least not if there was a sudden change.

3. Kind of. If they want help, then yes. Most of the world sucks like hell, and the people that actually have a working system should help. In theory that could mean us.

4. I would say yes and no. Surplus is always necessary for the continued existance of a system like ours. I would not say our liberties aren't liberties merely because you need a certain type of system to have them. After all, given a change in economic system, you could see a change in liberties, that doesn't mean one shouldn't have them though.

5. I would hardly say it was a characteristic intrinsic to democracy. Capitalism as a system has exploitation. If you disagree, reality says that that is the way it works on here.

And if there are no excess resources, then we're fucked. Of course it doesn't matter what economic system we are under if we run out of resources, we'll still be fucked.

[Durandal]

Moving to Politics.

[Darth Wong]

Is democracy a function of economics? Can most countries afford to have democracy on the level of the United States?

Canada has a similar democracy, and our economy is only a tenth of theirs. Our population is similar to that of Iraq (although our government tends to spend its money on roads, health care, and education rather than lavish palaces and a huge military buildup, unlike Saddam).

Is it right for us to try to impose it on other people?

How do you go about imposing democracy? The only way to impose democracy is to maintain a military dictatorship with periodic votes that can be overridden by the dictatorship until the people choose democracy of their own coerced "free will", and that's not really what I'd call democracy. However, many societies might choose democracy if given the genuine option. Zimbabwe comes to mind, with its bogus elections.

Are most of our civil liberties dependent upon an excess of capital and therefore not true civil liberties at all but merely the fact that we can afford it?

Your civil liberties were laid down by the Founding Fathers of your nation in its Constitution when the country was in its infancy and was both militarily and economically weak. They were based on principle, not expedience.

So then, is democracy dependent upon the exploitation of other systems for resources to support itself by spreading capitalism and what happens when there are no more excess resources to be had?

Democracy is a social concept, and has existed in one form or another for millenia. A democratic government must grant power to the masses, hence it inherently mitigates against extreme plutocracies of either economic or political power. In a sense, the economic strength of democracies stems from the fact that a highly educated workforce tends to come with the bargain, since the people will demand economic opportunities (which entails education for themselves and their children).

[RedImperator]

They feed off of each other. Political freedom without economic freedom is impossible to maintain, because the politically free will vote to not be poor (the inevitable result of an unfree economy), and economic freedom without political freedom is worthless because it's impossible for investments to be secure in a totalitarian regime.