[onetwo_threefour]

I largely agree with the principles expressed by IFF and Jammies, with some caveats.

Democracy is subvertible, as are other systems of government but a problem with democracy as we practice it, is that the power of many is concentrated in smaller and smaller circles of power. If you get the wrong person in place at the wrong time, they can do just as much damage as a dictator. For that reason, I think the Canadian system suffers by having no recall mechanisms. However, historically, this hasn't been a 'real' problem in Canada, (other than, say, Duplessis) as even when governments have reserved things like the notwithstandng clause to themselves, they have been extremely hesitant to employ them.

But that brings up a principle no one has mentioned yet, that I believe to be critical. Relating to the Rule of Law directly, I believe the principle of Judicial Independence is absolutely crucial to good governance. I beleive the Canadian system is superior to the American in this area.

With respect to IFF's comments about individual ethics, I think it's easy to take that too far. The government has to take some role in morality or people with different ethical value systems will end up at each other's throats if there is no official arbiter of whose ethics trump. A good example is sharia law. While it's easy to say that those that wish to invoke that type of thing in their own lives should be able to do so, there will always be problems in practice with that when people believe that there is some moral repugnancy to that system. I think that the government does need to impose a certain moral code, and that that code should be democratically determined, with the understanding that the judiciary is the check on excesses that go beyond the constitutional mandate of government.

Oh, and I especially agree with jammies' comments regarding mixed Economies and efficiency. I truly believe that issues such as health care and education cannot be sacrificed on the altar of efficiency. There is a higher 'caring' principle that trumps efficiency in those types of issues.

I usually vote NDP, not because I think they will ever form government, but because the dollars they get allow them to continue acting as a socialist conscience for Canada. They keep issues alive that I think need to be addressed and don't allow the public to get sucked into an American-style system of thinking that there are only two national alternatives, that really barely differ from each other anyway.