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diff --git a/phil/dembase.7 b/phil/dembase.7 deleted file mode 100644 index 2b2c421..0000000 --- a/phil/dembase.7 +++ /dev/null @@ -1,78 +0,0 @@ -.Dd January 1, 1970 -.Dt dembase phil -.Os Runxi Yu -.Sh NAME -.Nm dembase -.Nd Democracy: Fundamentals (Unfinished) -.Sh DESCRIPTION -.Pp -*Unless otherwise specified, "democracy" in this article refers to -representative democracy. "Country" can additionally refer to other -regions that have people and its own policies, such as a state, -provinces in some countries, etc.* -.Pp -We usually think of "democracy" as people influencing the policies of -the country by electing trustworthy experts that serve their interest to -make actual decisions about running the country. This type of democracy, -representative democracy, has evolved from direct democracy aging back -two thousand years ago as created by Athens in Greece. Representative -democracy is more scalable than direct democracy and also avoids some -forms of populism and uninformed decisions as its the experts in the -field that are making the actual policies. -.Pp -The Chinese term for democracy is "民主". The first character, "民", -means "people"; the second, "主", ascin "主人" means "owner". -You could understand it as saying "the people of the country own the -country (and thus get to decide on its affairs)". But at the same time, -"主" as in "自主" means "do things themselves", i.e. the right not -to be interfered by others while doing their own business. -.Pp -This is, of course, not the proper definition for democracy; democracy -is just saying that the general public ultimately runs the country. But -we could take the time to appreciate how with democracy we usually end -up with liberty and how we take personal liberty for granted. -.Pp -In any case, both democracy and liberty are important in a long-lasting -prosperous system of society. Note my wording in the first paragraph, -that the decisions of elected experts are for "running the -country"---I specifically mean issues that deal with either the general -public (such as public health and the environment) and things that would -be otherwise hard to solve personally (such as enforcement of contracts -and crimes). The "will of the people", represented by the government, -have no business doing things like banning freedom of thought or -mandating people not to smoke in their private property. Only when -things affect others such as smoking in public should the government, or -the will of the general public, have any say. And of course, people -should take responsibility for their own private deeds. It is argued -that a lung cancer patient who got lung cancer by smoking excessively -doesn't deserve medical insurance from taxpayers; but for cases where -an illness isn't caused by a identifiable private decision factor, -medical insurance and support should be given. (In practice the -distinction is subtle; this is also a very controversial topic.) -.Pp -People overemphasize the importance of democracy. In fact, democracy is -in my opinion less important than liberty---though in practice indeed -liberty wouldn't survive for long without democracy. -.Pp -Note that abortion and similar subjects may fall into the scope of -government. Some opponents of abortion believe that fetus is human life -and thus abortion is murder and shall be outlawed. The "privacy" and -"personal liberty" arguments don't stand up well against this as -it's no longer a personal matter when another human life is supposedly -on the line. [I oppose the abortion bans that Republicans in the US are -placing in many states for a different reason.](abortion.html) -.Pp -Modern populism (which is a poorly-defined term but does have the -following general scope) gives the power of deciding everything that -happens in the country to the people. This is bad in two ways. (1) The -general public often make uninformed and un-thought-through decisions -and are easily influenced. (2) The government, in this case directly the -collective decision of the people, is stepping its feet into the -personal lives of people. While it is democratic, it doesn't give -people liberty, creating a tyranny of the majority, and at the same time -making uninformed decisions which are better made by experts which -people elect. -.Pp -In future articles, I will discuss more practical issues in democracy -and society, especially on corruption of representatives, issues with -the modern voting system, etc. |