Re: esh
http://forums.theregister.co.uk/post/submit/2010/12/14/assange_bail_appeal/
"funny, that the same day berlusconi wins his confidence vote. and people wonder why 'democracy' is slated..."
Now there is an interesting point. What are the alternatives? Theocracy? Oh no I hear you say. OK then, Marxism (communism) which - being based on Plato's republic - has a system of guardians (the communist party which is the vanguard of the revolution) the soldiers (a touch menacing, what) and the people? Meritocracy? Plutocracy? Anarchy? Small communes, isolated from one another, acting like trading nations, but with no collective health, social security, defence and other core state mechanisms? Perhaps you have not thought things out, but Plato did. He ultimately concluded that democracy is the least of all evils, and at least affords the maximum number of people (an electorate from, say, age 18 upward, that is to say the age at which full citizenship duties including military and civil service can be assumed) the opportunity, once every five years, to hold their government to account.
As adumbrated above, the alternative is to concentrate power and its regeneration in the hands of the few. Whilst /ideally/ many alternative systems seem better, that is merely (in the Platonic sense of the word) ideal. The practical reality, as we have seen in democracy, is that twisted, sanctimonious and corrupt individuals help themselves to money, make illicit wars and so on. *However*, in the hands of a non elected system (do note the transition from such a system to, say, dictatorship or similar, begins with the election of a 'president for life') there is almost NO way to hold these people to account, and thus eject them from office. Unless of course you elect your meritocracy, your dictator, your one party state (that's what the Soviets did, allowing people to vote in candidate selections before holding elections)...
...notice also that Assange is a self appointed guardian of international public morals, having no mandate of any people or elected representative at all; Assange has appointed himself a guardian, and it would seem that 'Anonymous' or at least a part of it are his self appointed 'soldiers'. That makes us the proles. He is doing this for our own good, the nature of which he, Julian Assange, has determined on our behalf. How /kind/ of him...
...the major problem that we've had with politics is that people (the electorate) have disengaged. Politics and government are now treated like MacDonalds, something on the menu you order, pay for, consume and forget, each recipe put together by the most skilled of chefs and presented/defended by spin doctors. You get what you pay for. The way you pay for politics is through engagement. Be involved, persuade others to be involved. Realise that what you have, although imperfect, is probably a variation of the least harmful form of government, in spite of its current tyranny of political correctness and loose purse strings. (Note here that the current government has inherited that, is trying to unpick invasive legislation, but will be held responsible for it, such is the lead time in politics.)
The moment you unseat democracy without consciously and carefully articulating the alternatives, which consist in various ways of concentrating power in the hands of the few, or merely one, you lose control. Someone else stays permanently in the driving seat, and you don't have the right to choose them every five years. It's done for you.
Think about it before you throw it away because, once lost, it is hard to regain. Ask the German and the Russian people. Ask the Iranian people [...]
Biting the hand that feeds IT
