Quote:
Originally Posted by Webstral
Like fascism or communism. Is that the way you see Australia going? Certainly I'm not interested in having a power with no accountability to voters deciding anything. We have enough problems with government agencies running amok without eliminating any and every form accountability. We fought a war specifically to free ourselves from a government in which the citizenry had no voice. Still, our Australian cousins have to form the government that best serves your interests.
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No modern democracy is perfect. I see major issues with both the US and Australian democratic systems. We here in the Antipodes do have a couple of significant advantages, though, in terms of democratic principals. All citizens of voting age in Australia are required to vote, so (theoretically at least) a greater proportion of citizens in Australia actually have a say in who governs them than citizens in the US do. Of course, I'm sure Americans would fiercely guard their right to disenfranchise themselves from the democratic process, if that is their individual wish.
Secondly, it seems (from waaaay down here anyway) that the US has a firmly entrenched 2 party state. Any political groups other than the Republicans and the Democrats are so tiny as to have virtually no relevance. We have 2 main parties here, too, but a number of minor parties regularly get enough seats, particularly in the Senate, to have some say in the political process. I know many people (including myself) who regard a 2 party state as not being a whole lot more democratic than a 1 party state.