Jose Colaco wrote: 2. 'Democracies' - the Government still decides on Licenses, Monopolies, Taxes, Violations, Contracts etc - Big Business buys entire chunks of the media. Media spouts "official line" . Media Owners often vie for multi-billion dollar contracts in other areas. > > Moneybags decide what the populace need to hear, read, or see. > > No difference. really - ONLY in the 'democracies' the chances of disappearing after the Inquisition - is lower than in States run by the Commies or the Dictats. > > You get to face the Inquisition, get ostracised and then invited to be a pobresito Outcast. > Mario replies: Jose, your comments are far too general. To begin with, the topic was "abuse as a new form of censorship". Second, governments in a democracy, by definition, govern with the consent of the governed. Governments in any dictatorship, whether right, left or in between, have only a coercive power over those they govern, with no input from the governed.
I have presented below some responses that came to mind as I read the comments made by you (Jose's comments are within quotes.) a) "Government still decides on Licenses, Monopolies, Taxes, Violations, Contracts etc." I'm not sure what monopolies you are referring to, other than the post office, but these items seem like normal governmental functions to me, not any form of abuse or censorship. Furthermore, in a democracy, these cannot be imposed willy nilly without the elected representatives being held responsible and accountable. b) "Big Business buys entire chunks of the media. Media spouts "official line" . Media Owners often vie for multi-billion dollar contracts in other areas. Moneybags decide what the populace need to hear, read, or see" In a democracy, big and small businesses can buy advertising time, not news reporting time. No media can spout any official line in a democracy without rebuttal and challenge, because the media is far too difuse and reflects as many points of view as exist (have you ever listened to a call-in talk show in the US, whether liberal or conservative or in-the-middle?). Moneybags have always had an advantage over emptybags, but all democracies have options and opportunities that enable the emptybags to hear other points of view if they are interested. The internet has played a big role in this. Forums such as Goanet and all the blogs are good examples. c) "No difference. really" (I assume you see no difference between democracy and dictatorships) I have no idea which democracies you are referring to which are "no different" from any dictatorship. d) "You get to face the Inquisition, get ostracised and then invited to be a pobresito Outcast" I have lived in three democracies, and I have absolutely no idea what you are referring to here. Dictatorships on the left(communist) and right have the same features as far as coercive power, abuse, control and censorship are concerned. However, I see no comparison between their absolute coercive power and the absence of any independent system that one can appeal to and any "unfairness" you may see in a democracy, which all have access to some forum or process for those whom someone tries to abuse or censor.
