Quote:
Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction
Not to get too off topic (and I totally agree with his take on Biden vs. Trump), he talks about the fall of the Roman Republic, but the Roman Republic wasn't even close to being a democracy by modern standards.
Roman law not only allowed for dictatorships, but actually called on it in times of external or internal strife. Interestingly, the system actually worked for a long time and dictators typically stepped down once they weren't required. It was this realist position that allowed the Republic to survive as long as it did. The problem is when the times of strife became too frequent to allow for "democracy" to succeed. I think this is a human tendency and Trump is a symptom of the overall situation the country (and world) is in. Democracy isn't a natural state, but a fleeting luxury that occurs far less often in human history than the alternatives.
Not making excuses for Trump, but until the internal and external situations currently causing anxiety are dealt with, I don't think Biden or anyone else will change the trajectory towards authoritarianism.
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The US isn't really a Democracy by modern standards either, Losers can win, 1/3 of the real power base is appointed, there are active voter suppression efforts.....
This isn't to be critical of the US system as it was founded, it is just been 250 years and desperately in need of an update. I think the Canagdian system isn't far behind, eventually as system that doesn't allow for rank choice voting and/or proportional representation will seem barbarically out of date too.
Also more wishful thinking on my behalf, but in the Canadian system I wouldn't mind seeing a term limited upper house that is appointed by sortation. Get a diverse group of career professionals randomly selected to sit in review and approval of decisions from the commons.