Democracy? That is easy – one person one vote.
But not quite as easy. What we have is representative democracy. Instead of all of us being able to vote on every issue (which we could do with the technology we have) we elect representatives to do the voting for us.
This is quite good if we elect the right people. Those people can check everything out in a way that most of us can’t – because we don’t have access to all the information and do not have the time – and vote wisely.
I used to like democracy but I’ve lost a lot of faith in it.
We never seem to have candidates who represent my views to choose from.
Those candidates are not what they seem.
There is too much corruption.
The representatives are bought off by vested interest – the rich and wealthy.
Power goes to the head.
To put the power directly in the hands of the public is also fraught:
It puts power in the hands of the ill-informed.
The stupid have as much influence as the intelligent.
The media misinforms people.
The media is controlled by the rich and wealthy.
Having said all that I do believe that we do have many politicians who are dedicated and honest. There is not any other system that is better.
What I would like is complete transparency, a way of taking money and lobbying out of the system, and an unbiased, objective media.