🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1992Nov6.215508.23725@thunder.mcrcim.mcgill.edu>, thomas@McRCIM.McGill.EDU (Thomas Jelonek) writes:

> What I was referring to was ability of citizens to banish anyone
> provide two thirds of them agreed.  No reason was required - no laws
> need be broken.

That's a very interesting idea, and I think it might well turn out to
be a good thing if it were implemented here...though it'd have to be
modified to be workable on the scale of even a modern city, never mind
a modern country.

>> Are there any democracies left?  I don't think there are, except
>> possibly a couple of small countries, I think in northern Europe.
> I was using the common usage of modern democracy that includes
> Canada, US, most of Europe, much of South America and Asia.

By "democracy" I meant government by the people, not by representatives
(which often aren't, but that's another story).  A Swiss canton, to at
least some extent.  Ancient Athens, I thought, but am beginning to
wonder.

> It is unclear to me why you equate small jurisdictions with
> democracy.

Because communications break down when you try to get more than a few
thousand persons together.  Thus, in order for a democracy to work, the
population must be no more than a few thousand.  As peta points out,
modern technology may be (not "is") changing this.

> I have often found, for example, that municipal governments to be
> very despotic.

Oh, heavens, I never meant to claim that all small jurisdictions were
necessarily democracies.  Just that all democracies are small.

> Would you consider the Montreal Urban Community to be more democratic
> than the Federal government?

From what little I know of the two, yes.  But that little really is
very little, so I could be entirely wrong, or right for the wrong
reason.

					der Mouse

			    mouse@larry.mcrcim.mcgill.edu