tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1867127488416158679.post6940878550565937119..comments2023-09-28T06:33:11.190-07:00Comments on Chariot of Reaction: Democracy: What is it Good For?Jehuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16483263667086303029noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1867127488416158679.post-47768106790199925102011-07-08T13:49:53.207-07:002011-07-08T13:49:53.207-07:00Kalim,
Mises' observation holds only when demo...Kalim,<br />Mises' observation holds only when democratic political power is well aligned to effective military power. If there's a coalition of, say, 60% with very low military power relative to the 40%, you've got an unstable situation on your hands. This is probably why universal manhood suffrage (i.e., adult males only) came in such lockstep with huge conscript armies. When armies were small relatively professional affairs, military power was much more concentrated in the population, as it is now in a post-draft US.Jehuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16483263667086303029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1867127488416158679.post-66654990656211890872011-07-08T12:54:38.031-07:002011-07-08T12:54:38.031-07:00Democracy is a tool, and should only be used by th...Democracy is a tool, and should only be used by those who know how to use it. If Democracy starts producing undesirable externalities, it just tells how skilled the common population is in using this tool.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14863824663125535913noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1867127488416158679.post-18229074546298273672011-07-08T12:29:35.446-07:002011-07-08T12:29:35.446-07:00Ludwig von Mises was a broadly pro-democracy liber...Ludwig von Mises was a broadly pro-democracy liberal (though his personal loyalty was always to his Emperor) and identified just this as the main 'feature' of democracy in his <i>Notes & Recollections</i>:<br /><br />"Technical proposals for changes in the election system ... would be no solution. If the masses of people oppose an administration that was formed by a minority, it cannot indefinitely survive. If it refuses to yield to public opinion, it will be overthrown by revolution. The preferability of democracy consists in the fact that it facilitates a peaceful adjustment of the system of government and government personnel to the wishes of public opinion."Kalim Kassamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00366464572139539557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1867127488416158679.post-49094261985625818252011-07-07T21:38:18.733-07:002011-07-07T21:38:18.733-07:00I wouldn't say I endorse it, but I do say that...I wouldn't say I endorse it, but I do say that it is more stable because of the alignment of military power and political power than our present arrangement. I suppose in the world of practical politics, saying its less bad than the present status quo represents an endorsement of sorts.Jehuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16483263667086303029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1867127488416158679.post-17839348757867985982011-07-07T20:26:56.820-07:002011-07-07T20:26:56.820-07:00Ah, so you endorse the Starship troopers/Swiss mod...Ah, so you endorse the Starship troopers/Swiss model of democracy. Results wise the Swiss model worked very well very a very long time.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com