Re: [microsound] completely OT yet so on-topic

[david turgeon <david.t@xxxxxxxx>]

> I live in a democratic country that has elections every 4 years, and were
> the politicians are not openly illeterate, sexmaniacs or wornout filmstars,
> and were you can choose at 20+ parties. If for four years there is
> government I didn't vote for (and yes, I do vote, together with 50-70% of
> this countries population), then it's just bad luck. it's a system that
> works and most people feel happy by (mainly because it allows them to keep
> on complaining). Compared to the US, with their Bushes and Clintons, 24% of
> population going to vote on relatively few parties (of which 2 seem to
> matter), yes I agree: democracy is indeed an extension of capitalism. Sadly
> democracy doesn't function very well in the US, but it does in many other
> countries (and more and longer then any communist country)

that's it!  that's exactly it!

yes, i know i had promised not to post anything regarding this topic,
but...  i think that frans had brought up a crucial point here.  among
other thing this might explain why you euros don't seem to understand
what we're talking about.  :)

joking apart, this is something i realized after leaving work & thinking
of yesterday's discussions.  there is no real democratic tradition in
the U.S., no left-wing parties with any chance of gaining power &
_everything_ is based on spectacle, not skill, with the disinterested
population (rich or poor) "expecting" politicians to magically behave in
their best interest (following the god-blessed religion of the "american
myth", of course).  at the last election, the greens (ralph nader's
party, the 3rd biggest party in the U.S. right now) have received
something like 2-5% of votes which is ridiculous.  

also, historically, it used to be that the republicans were the
"leftists" (tell that to junior!), so you can see how slippery political
convictions are in that country.

here in canada we are veering towards that end as well, although there
is more variety.  however, this variety has more to do with geographical
differences (the west votes PC or alliance (both conservative right-wing
parties), parts of manitoba vote NDP, ontario votes liberal, québec
votes liberal or BQ, & the atlantic votes liberal or NDP) than with
actual governmental differences as you would see in europe.

the only left-wing party in canada with any chance of gaining power
(NDP) has had its worse performance ever during the last election & has
never had federal power.  it reaches the poorer provinces only, & can't
even manage to get a foot in québec, which ironically has one of the
most solid social-democrat traditions in canada, along with manitoba &
the atlantic provinces.  currently it is the 4th opposition party (out
of 4), so we might as well say it has, well, no say.

european elections are held in many turns, which allows coalitions of
parties to form, & which means small parties can eventually be appointed
to certain key positions without necessarily being "the most popular",
so even within say a liberal government you could have a green minister
of the environment, which makes a little sense at least.  american
democracy means the winner gets everything & the rest can do nothing but complain.

also, i'd like to thank those who brought some precisions to the links
between futurists & fascism.  my own view on the subject was, as you may
remember, full of "probably"s & "i think"s, but i wasn't so far off
after all.  :)

~ david