>>Jay >> Wouldn't the "most democratic outcome" be for a community >>"vote" to distribute something equally among its members >>(e.g., a public park, a Big Mack every Friday night)? <
>Jim: >no, total equality isn't democratic, since people may decide The decision process was "democratic"* because it was based on "equal access to power." A decision based on "money," is inherently undemocratic (plutocratic) because it's a product of "unequal access to power" (how much money one has). It's not about the OUTCOME, it's about the PROCESS. IMHO, the we live in a "plutocracy" because almost all political questions -- including the elections themselves -- are reduced to economic questions. That is not to say I am in favor of a democracy, but I think we should be a clear as possible about what we are doing. Jay ========== * <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy> These principles are reflected in all citizens being equal before the law and having equal access to power. _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
