bismi-lLahi-rRahmani-rRahiem
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
=== News Update ===
Are We (US) Really a
Dictatorship? You Decide. (Poll)
by Rippe
Thu Jan 12, 2006 at 09:49:02 AM NZDT
Yeah, neither do I.
Still, I've been determined to figure out if, in fact, the United States has become a dictatorship, as we're all so fond of alleging in our diaries and comments. So, I spent my lunch hour on Wikipedia in search of truth, learning all over again about all the different forms of government.
The result? It seems to me that the U.S. could fall into any one of ten categories. And unfortunately, "democracy" isn't one of them.
This diary is a democracy. It invites participation. It allows one vote per person. All votes are counted.
Our country, however, is not. In my completely subjective opinion, which I'm entitled to once a day according to Kos regulations, Dubya and Dick and Karl are running our government as one of the following:
- Totalitarianism
- Autocracy
- Absolutism
- Despotism
- Dictatorship
- Tyranny
- Police State
- Oligarchy
- Theocracy
...or the "official" U.S. form of government, which is a federal republic.
{Note: you can read all of Wikipedia's definitions here, but I'll give you the snapshots below, with my emphasis added in bold.}
How about Totalitarianism?
- ...the state regulates nearly every aspect of public and private
behavior. Totalitarian regimes mobilize entire populations in support of
the state and a political ideology, and do not tolerate activities by
individuals or groups such as labor unions, churches and political
parties that are not directed toward the state's goals. They maintain
themselves in power by means of secret police, propaganda disseminated
through the state-controlled mass media, regulation and restriction of
free discussion and criticism, and widespread use of terror
tactics
- ...a form of government in which unlimited power is held by a single
individual.
- Absolutism is a political theory which argues that one person
(generally, a monarch) should hold all power.
- Hobbes, in his philosophy of natural law, believed that absolutist rulers emerged according to the baser instincts of humans, specifically their fear of death and their need for power. In his philosophy, there could be no social order without the ceding of power to a single individual who would use power to restrain the violent and anti-social tendencies of the people.
- To those who believed the absolute ruler was chosen by God, rebellion against the monarch was tantamount to rebellion against God. Hence, rule was considered "absolute," in that the ruler could not be challenged.
- Hobbes, in his philosophy of natural law, believed that absolutist rulers emerged according to the baser instincts of humans, specifically their fear of death and their need for power. In his philosophy, there could be no social order without the ceding of power to a single individual who would use power to restrain the violent and anti-social tendencies of the people.
- Despotism is government by a singular authority, either a single
person or tightly knit group, which rules with absolute power. The
word implies tyrannical rule; it suggests a form of government which
exercises exacting and near-absolute control over all of its
citizens.
- Dictatorship, in contemporary usage, refers to absolute rule by a
leadership (usually one dictator) unrestricted by law, constitutions, or
other social and political factors within the state.
- Dictatorships in the modern sense tend to exert their power without any regard to the moral or ethical consequences of their actions. They hardly ever come to power by democratic means, often being installed by a coup d'état or revolution. Often they will assert that they are using their powers, like ancient roman dictators, to deal with the enormity of some emergency, real or imagined. However, dictators and their governments rarely lay down their power once any such crisis has abated. In the lack thereof, they sometimes invent their own, such as in the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin.
- Such regimes survive out of the fear the people have for the government. Dictatorships often use armed force, propaganda, and arbitrary detention to enforce their will, and usually suppress any opinion which runs counter to their own.
- Dictatorships in the modern sense tend to exert their power without any regard to the moral or ethical consequences of their actions. They hardly ever come to power by democratic means, often being installed by a coup d'état or revolution. Often they will assert that they are using their powers, like ancient roman dictators, to deal with the enormity of some emergency, real or imagined. However, dictators and their governments rarely lay down their power once any such crisis has abated. In the lack thereof, they sometimes invent their own, such as in the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin.
- A tyrant is a usurper of rightful power, possessing absolute power
and ruling by tyranny.
- The term now carries connotations of a cruel despot who places their own interests or the interests of a small oligarchy over the best interests of the general population of the state over which they govern.
- The term now carries connotations of a cruel despot who places their own interests or the interests of a small oligarchy over the best interests of the general population of the state over which they govern.
- A police state is a totalitarian state regulated by secret police;
the police exercise power on behalf of the executive and the conduct of
the police cannot be effectively challenged. In such regimes there is no
significant distinction between the law and the will of the executive;
there is no rule of law.
- Because the enlightened despot is charged with the public good, opposition to government policy is an offense against authority, and thus against the state itself and all that it represented: the concept of loyal opposition is incompatible within this political framework. Because public dissent is forbidden, dissent is inevitably secret. To police dissent, therefore, requires use of informers and secret police.
- Because the enlightened despot is charged with the public good, opposition to government policy is an offense against authority, and thus against the state itself and all that it represented: the concept of loyal opposition is incompatible within this political framework. Because public dissent is forbidden, dissent is inevitably secret. To police dissent, therefore, requires use of informers and secret police.
- Oligarchy is a political regime where most or all political power
effectively rests with a small segment of society (typically the most
powerful, whether by wealth, family, military strength, ruthlessness, or
political influence). The word oligarchy is from the Greek words for
"few" (oligo) and "rule" (arkhos). Some political
theorists have argued that all governments are inevitably oligarchies no
matter the supposed political system.
- Oligarchies are often controlled by a few powerful families whose children are raised and mentored to become inheritors of the power of the oligarchy often at some sort of expense to those governed, as some claim has recently occured in the U.S.A.
- Oligarchies are often controlled by a few powerful families whose children are raised and mentored to become inheritors of the power of the oligarchy often at some sort of expense to those governed, as some claim has recently occured in the U.S.A.
And a Theocracy...
- The term theocracy is used to describe a form of government in which
a religion or faith plays a dominant role...
- A federal republic is a state which is both a federation and a
republic. A federation is a state composed of a number of self-governing
regions (often themselves referred to as 'states' or 'regions') united by
a central, federal government. In a federation, unlike in a unitary
state, the self-governing status of autonomous regions is
constitutionally entrenched and cannot be revoked by an unilateral
decision of the central government.
I see elements of all these in the Dubya administration, so honestly, I can't decide. I'll let you know in the comments section which one I voted for, but you go first.
If you're so moved to recommend a non-Alito diary, thanks in advance.
Poll
So, Which Is It?Totalitarianism 8%
Autocracy 3%
Absolutism 0%
Despotism 8%
Dictatorship 18%
Tyranny 6%
Police State 8%
Oligarchy 39%
Theocracy 2%
Federal Republic 8%
Votes: 100
Results :: Other Polls
source:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/1/11/15492/6537
===
-muslim voice-
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