Re: Democracy (was Re: The UN (Hey, JDG!))

[J. van Baardwijk]

At 17:21 21-10-2002 -0500, Dan Minette wrote:
Jeroen "Have it on my desk by 08:00 tomorrow" van Baardwijk

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> >Well, I'll go in where wiser folks fear to tread.  The UN is not a
> >democracy.  It is a place where voting occurs, but voting does not
> >make something a democracy.
>
> That depends on how you define "democracy". When you use its literal
> meaning ("the people decide"), then the UN is indeed not a democracy.
> When you use the word in the way it is more commonly used, however
> ("the majority decides"), then the UN *is* a democracy.

Actually, the common loose usage of democracy is "representative of the
people." Thus, countries with representative governments with
constitutions are referred to as democracies, while countries that are
governed by small groups of people, like the Politburo, are not. But, I'm
sure you know that.

Out of curiosity, why do you keep on twisting meanings, even when you don't
have to?

I do not see this as "twisting meanings". Apparently I use a different definition of "democracy" than you do. But then, the definition "the majority decides" is the everyday definition that gets taught in schools here (at least, in my days it was; I cannot tell if it has been changed since then). I suppose that US schools teach "representative of the people" as the everyday definition.

So, if you think my definition is wrong, blame the Dutch educational system. :-)


Jeroen "Different places, different definitions" van Baardwijk

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Wonderful-World-of-Brin-L Website: http://www.Brin-L.com


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