Hello Shaun, You have said that the only way to instill direct democracy is by revolution. It is true but not by any violent means. It can be done in a non-violent and constitutional manner and myverdict provides an example of how it can be done. I think that we all agree on the basics - that people should have a say in governance and not be mere vote banks. If this is so then we in WDDM should have no hesitation in giving the push to the idea of myverdict or something similar to that. A revolution can be initiated if we act synergistically.
PVR
On Wed, 20 Feb 2008 10:21:47 +1100 wddm@world-wide-democracy.net wrote
Hi Roy Daine
The only way to instill direct democracy in the way that you hope for is through revolution. America already had one and look at what was acheived; civil war years later, currupt governments and half of America not represented in the political system but paying tax. So much for "no taxation without representation."
We have a lot to gain from the Swiss system especially considering their cantons and our states are organised in a similar mannor. In Australia the federal government still is able to overide the states and our sennate is useless. I want direct democarcy and provisions as established through referenda in Australia. Even major leaders in our country have hinted that public will is crutial.
There are not provisons but I hope to create a political party usig public consensus and party policy at the same time. Everyone I know belives that if they had the choice to vote on every bill of parliment they would.
Kind Regards,
Shaun
Date: Tue, 19 Feb 2008 22:40:34 +0000From: rdaine@btinternet.comTo: wddm@world-wide-democracy.netSubject: RE: [WDDM] Direct Democracy or anarchy??? Hi Shaun,
Representative democracy is a misnomer. There is no representation of the will of the people. In most representative democracies, the representatives are decision makers, representative of a geogrphical area, a constituency.
They are not required to represent the majority view of constituents.
How could they be? No country has an official mechanism for collecting the majority view.
It is my belief that the governance of all countries, barring Switzerland, cannot be deemed legitimate under international law, as their constitutions, written or otherwise, have not been ratified by the people.
(International law enshrines the inalienable right of a people to self-determination. This right flows to the people, not governments or nations. The Swiss are the only people to have ratified their constitution, as far as I know, in 1999.)
You will find that originally, power was taken by the strongest, who then decided on the form and functions of government and imposed it on the people. This is true for most countries.
Best Regards Roy Daine myverdict.net
Shaun Taliana <talias(at)tpg.com.au> wrote:
.HI all People need leadership. No leadership and we have anarchy. Direct democracy is the collective decision making process of the people REGARDLESS of how that decision making process is undertook. I belive that representative democracy has everything it needs to instill the peoples will in the political process; although many of you belive otherwise. A decision making process without government is essentially anarchy. When you speak of direct democracy think in terms of whats practical and what is realistically acheiveable. If there are Australians amongst you please reply to me directly in regards to how we can set up direct democracy in Australia. All the best, Shaun