At 12:35 AM 10/22/2002 +0200 J. van Baardwijk wrote:
>I have always been opposed to veto power for *any* country because it gets
>in the way of the democratic process, so the answers to the above questions
>are "no" and "no".
So, in other words, the UNSC is by no means a paragon of the "democratic
principle."
QED: Throwing out the UNSC is not throwing out "democratic principle."
>Yes. Of course, ideally any UN decision would be made by letting every
>citizen of every member country vote on the issue (using the "one man, one
>vote" principle). However, given that this is not doable, the principle of
>"one country, one vote" is the best alternative.
This is, of course, completely consistent with your views on the electoral
college.
Moreover, it once again demonstrates that the UN is not a paragon of
"democratic principle."
QED: Throwing out the UNSC is not throwing out "democratic principle."
>No. By rejecting the authority of the UN, the US is choosing a form of
>dictatorship ("the US and only the US decides") over what at least to a
>certain extent is a democracy.
First off, any institution with veto powers is "democracy" by only the
crudest of measures. Indeed, since all decision in the US Congress are
taken by a republic through democratic principles, I would argue that the
US Congress is far more democratic than an institution that gives out veto
powers, let alone a veto power to the Butchers of Beijing.
Besides, the US has consulted with its allies, many of whom, such as UK,
Australia, Italy, and Spain have supported the US in this. Hardly
"dictatorship." Neverminding the 536 elected representatives that
participated in this decision of the US. Which, I might add is roughly
526 more elected representatives than participate in UNSC decisions.
JDG
_______________________________________________________
John D. Giorgis - [EMAIL PROTECTED]
People everywhere want to say what they think; choose who will govern
them; worship as they please; educate their children -- male and female;
own property; and enjoy the benefits of their labor. These values of
freedom are right and true for every person, in every society -- and the
duty of protecting these values against their enemies is the common
calling of freedom-loving people across the globe and across the ages.
-US National Security Policy, 2002
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