I'm reposting my (slightly adjusted) comment on the blog here:

How do you distinguish between the informed and the ill-informed? Most political questions are not scientific. Remember that scene from The remains of the day where the butler is interrogated on current political affairs? The pompous ass in the comfy chair thinks he knows better, but how can he be certain? Just because people have had an education, it doesn't guarantee they will take better decisions. After all, many of the Western intellectuals support the most ludicrous ideas. Democracy exists for one reason only: to distribute power and protect citizens from tyranny. That's why we put up with it. There is no other justification.

Quote from bola

I'm reposting my (slightly adjusted) comment on the blog here:

How do you distinguish between the informed and the ill-informed? Most political questions are not scientific. Remember that scene from The remains of the day where the butler is interrogated on current political affairs? The pompous ass in the comfy chair thinks he knows better, but how can he be certain?

My point was one cannot expect high-quality let alone anything better than mediocre government from representative forms of government, since essentially everyone has a say. Would you not agree that more people fall into the ill-informed camp than otherwise? I want a stable, yet relatively unobtrusive, government that is run by the few who know what government's purpose is and do not expand its mandate on the whims of the citizenry. The King and his nobility are not elected. They do not have to make campaign promises. Their business is to keep the peace whether between citizens or between nations. You can read more of my thoughts on this subject here.

Quote from bola

Just because people have had an education, it doesn't guarantee they will take better decisions. After all, many of the Western intellectuals support the most ludicrous ideas.

Quite so. I heartily agree with you here. The education system has been a "target" of mine in the past, since they do not usually teach students how to think but what to think. The so-called intellectuals usually do more harm than good with their ideas (see: political correctness and its submovements like feminism).

Quote from bola

Democracy exists for one reason only: to distribute power and protect citizens from tyranny. That's why we put up with it. There is no other justification.

I once thought that, but I realised the tyranny of democracy is more subtle than the kind exercised by autocratic regimes. Think about this: just how free are you? There is a reason why the Internet is so popular: there is so little genuine freedom in the supposedly "free nations" of the world. It is quite understood what sort of thinking is or is not acceptable.

I would say democracies have failed miserably to protect citizens from tyranny. As a matter of fact, they are like foxes guarding the henhouses. Look at those massive bureaucracies spinning red tape like there is no tomorrow. Look at those laws multiplying faster than rabbits can breed. Look at those restraining orders being handed out like candy. It just goes on and on and on. Needless to say, I am not impressed with democracy's track record.

Democracy only works until the populace realise they can vote themselves more money from the public treasury, more favours from the welfare state and more protection from the government mafia.

Quote from Darth Sidious

I once thought that, but I realized the tyranny of democracy is more subtle than the kind exercised by autocratic regimes. Think about this: just how free are you? There is a reason why the Internet is so popular: there is so little genuine freedom in the supposedly "free nations" of the world. It is quite understood what sort of thinking is or is not acceptable.

But we are on this forum. Compare that to China. Michael Buerke criticized the BBC. He wasn't arrested. In stead some changes in the management were made.

I would say democracies have failed miserably to protect citizens from tyranny.

There are moments when I feel the same. It's all very disappointing. But you have to realize that without the democratic safeguards things could easily be even worse. Democracy doesn't guarantee after all that tyranny will be impossible, it just makes it harder to achieve. Democracy is designed to stop people from pulling all the power towards them, of course you can't stop them from trying. I think the real culprit is Big Government.

As a matter of fact, they are like foxes guarding the henhouses. Look at those massive bureaucracies spinning red tape like there is no tomorrow. Look at those laws multiplying faster than rabbits can breed. Look at those restraining orders being handed out like candy. It just goes on and on and on.

It's like a steady drizzle of fine grained particles that gradually covers you completely. I read that in California people are not even allowed to smoke on the beach anymore. That's in the open air.

Needless to say, I am not impressed with democracy's track record.

I'm not impressed with the track record of the aristocracy either. After all, it's their fault the revolution happened in the first place. We have had more than 200 years of revolutionary mayhem since then. If the aristocrats had done a proper job of government, we wouldn't be in the situation we are today. Common people don't easily rise against their superiors. They are very reluctant to do so. You have to manage them really badly for a long time.