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Democracy versus dictatorship

Author
kraiklyn Asatru
Sebiestor Tribe
Minmatar Republic
#21 - 2013-06-25 19:09:16 UTC
So Diana any truth to that rumour....



You know about you and Heth...
Narcisa De Fontaine
Core Medical Group
#22 - 2013-06-25 19:09:55 UTC
Scherezad wrote:


This vitriol really is a little excessive, ma'am.


I'm sorry you feel that way. He upsets me.
Shintoko Akahoshi
Center for Advanced Studies
Gallente Federation
#23 - 2013-06-25 19:14:17 UTC
Narcisa De Fontaine wrote:
Scherezad wrote:


This vitriol really is a little excessive, ma'am.


I'm sorry you feel that way. He upsets me.


You are not the only one. He does not represent the best face of the Federation.

Bio and writing

(Nothing I say is indicative of corporate policy unless otherwise stated)

Cyrus Alabel
Azure Wrath
#24 - 2013-06-25 19:46:27 UTC  |  Edited by: Cyrus Alabel
Diana Kim wrote:
Seriphyn Inhonores wrote:

The ongoing civil strife within the State is a prototypical example of the greatest flaw with dictatorship; it can only be removed by force. It is my personal opinion that a corrupt democracy is superior to an efficient dictatorship because of that exact reason. A corrupt democracy can be corrected peaceably.

I have a diametrically opposite point of view: even the best and successful form of democracy is inferior to even corrupt dictatorship.

And I really doubt you can correct all kind of democracies peaceably. For example, take recent events happened in Luminaire solar system. Federal government were ready to sacrifice the whole planet, just to destroy one ship. Or even worse, they were trying to destroy the whole planet by staging attack on the said ship and the planet at the same time, luring ship to fire upon it. And what now? They are all still acting, safe and sound.

They are definitely not planning to correct themselves. They only way I see how to fix it, is to spill their blood.


Normally I only drop in here to troll, because I find it amusing to provide snarky commentary, but honestly. Why, in Rouvenor's name, would we want to destroy Caldari Prime? It is the home of the Caldari, and while our past has been bitter you simply cannot remove the fact that the Caldari were a founding member of the federation. No matter how we fight, be it in Black Rise or Luminaire, they had a hand in shaping our history, just as we did in theirs. And the only thing--the ONLY thing--that kept us from staying peaceful when we made our break was the Dragonaurs' (hmm, there's a familiar name) bombing of Nouvelle Rouvenor. Had that not happened, we may not be having this argument in the first place. (These days isolationism, frankly, seems like the better option, but that simply cannot be in today's world.)

As a militia pilot I am nominally anti-Caldari, acting in defense of Gallenteans. But before you call me a hypocrite (and forgive my ignorance if I am wrong) the State Protectorate was a pet project of Heth's, mostly Provist lackeys, and given the CPD's recent decision about the man at the top, they are marked with the taint of the Dragonaurs as well. I have no trouble in defending my home. Aggression, however, disgusts me. We do not need to iron out our problems with so many hybrid rounds and missiles.

Spit on my rambling words if you must, but can you not at least be open to the possibility of compromise? Do Tierijev and the success Ishkukone mean nothing to you? Are you so rabidly anti-Gallente that you cannot even conceive of coexistence?

As to the actual conversation of democracy: of course we have problems. Every system has problems. I'd bet even the EoM and Sansha have internal problems, nevermind the fact that they're one of the few enemies most of us agree on. yet I have a feeling your hatred of democracy has something to do with racism. I try to understand the Caldari. I do not tell them how to be Caldari. In turn you do not tell me how to be Gallente. Would it, then, kill you to try to understand us?
Pieter Tuulinen
Societas Imperialis Sceptri Coronaeque
Khimi Harar
#25 - 2013-06-25 20:40:18 UTC
Sir, you ARE wrong about the State Protectorate, because it is mostly staffed by Patriots. The Provists are a tiny percentage of the Caldari people as a whole. If the State Protectorate was staffed only with them it would be tiny.

The problems with Democracy are so numerous that I certainly don't have the space to ennumerate them enough. We can start with the directly observable and push through to the theoretical and still be here next year - suffice it to say that:

1. Democracy is predicated on the theory that a million ordinary people will make better decisions than a hundred exceptional people. Nothing in science or history suggests this to be true.

2. Democracys greatest vaunted quality, that it safeguards the people from abuses by their leaders, is manifestly false. Self-granted rights are routinely ignored 'for the good of the Federation'. Media outlets muzzled. Private citizens imprisoned or worse. There is no protection that a citizen can 'vote' for himself that his government will not strip away, in the dark, if it benefits them.

3. Democracy has made the Federation no more moral in its actions than any other government. Rogue deathsquads have operated in Black Rise and on Home without let or hindrance.


The reason why I seldom, if ever, take Seriphyn Inhonores' mouthings on the Federation and State seriously is because he lives in a Fantasy version of the Cluster where Democracy and Dictatorship are absolutes. In the Real Cluster that the rest of us live in Dictatorships are NEVER absolute and always rely on popular support and Democracies constantly conceal the truth and the levers of power from the masses.

For the first time since I started the conversation, he looks me dead in the eye. In his gaze are steel jackhammers, quiet vengeance, a hundred thousand orbital bombs frozen in still life.

Reuben Johnson
Gal-Min Industries
#26 - 2013-06-25 20:40:28 UTC  |  Edited by: Reuben Johnson
Democracy...Majority rule over the minority
Dictatorship...Minority rule over the majority

Depending on which category you fall into depends on which you feel is better or worse. In the end, they are both Totalitarian.
Makkal Hanaya
Revenent Defence Corperation
#27 - 2013-06-25 20:47:12 UTC
I assumed this was a stealth anti-Imperial/anti-Royal thread.

The State has no dictators. It has a man who attempted to become a dictator and is now being hunted for it.

Render unto Khanid the things which are Khanid's; and unto God the things that are God's.

Steffanie Saissore
Tyrathlion Interstellar
#28 - 2013-06-25 20:52:43 UTC
Here I was hoping that there could be a reasonable discourse about ideologies without resorting to threats, insults, and other base negativity.

Perhaps I expected too much. Now, some who have made comments have done so in a reasonable manner without personal attack or vitriol. Are the rest of you just that petty that you feel obligated to tear down another person's idea or opinion just because you disagree? Disagree all you want, but do so in a constructive method. If you think democracy is wrong, fine, explain why with examples and without personal attacks.

We travel in the dark of the new moon,

A starry highway traced on the map of the sky

Korsavius
Revenent Defence Corperation
#29 - 2013-06-25 21:16:32 UTC
Diana Kim wrote:
Indeed, these five years the State was shining with brilliance as never before, and our descendants will forever remember glorious rule of Executor Tibus Heth, revering him among such patriots as Admiral Tovil-Toba.

Hah.

Cold Wind's Blade || Follow the I-RED Newsfeed & visit the I-RED GalNet site!

Xindi Kraid
Itsukame-Zainou Hyperspatial Inquiries Ltd.
Arataka Research Consortium
#30 - 2013-06-25 21:20:36 UTC  |  Edited by: Xindi Kraid
First let me remind you that the Federation is a representative democracy. Citizens elect leaders to make decisions for them; because of this, the citizens of the Federation have no more direct control over the day to day operations and major decisions of their nation than Citizens of the State have over theirs. In both systems, most issues are decided by a small number of leaders who hold the power.

Second, the governmental system of the State is not a dictatorship. We have a group of leaders who vote on major issues; it's only been a defacto leadership for the past couple of years because that group choose to rubber stamp the decisions of one individual. Despite this that one man still had to rely on the CEP to go along with him, as we have seen in the past few weeks, there is a limit to that. Also, do not forget that some democratic elements exist in the Caldari system; the CEOs of the megacorporations vote on issues, and at the same time, shareholders are able to vote on issues that determine the direction of the corporations they hold shares in, and one of the items that can come to a vote includes the selection of the corporate leadership.


I think you are falling into the trap of forming an opinion on a limited data set. HETH'S dictatorship has been bad thus far, while the MOST RECENT change in power in the Federation was fairly smooth. Unfortunately you have ignored quite a bit of other information regarding both systems however. You never mentioned the Amarr Empire, and you haven't mentioned the Minmatar Republic, which is also a "democracy" but has recently attacked its own ally and shed blood. You also ignore your own history. Yes the most recent changeover in power was bloodless, but remember that the Caldari used to be a part of the Federation and a failing of the Federation's system of government led to a century of civil war that ultimately resulted in two separate nations. In addition, that same democracy felt the need to lay siege to an entire planet over a terrorist incident; more damningly, I've had people tell me that was NOT a popular decision amongst the citizenry, and that fact, nor the quick replacement of the leadership afterwards, does not negate the fact it happened under that system, so democracy isn't as bloodless as you claim it to be.

From what I am seeing, it isn't the merits of each system that matter, so much as the quality of the leaders, since each system we have seen has seen its fair share of good leaders and horrible leaders, and regardless of system, when bad leaders are placed in charge, bad things happen. The Federation has merely been lucky in that their most recent leadership has allowed itself to turn over more gracefully (I wont claim you have better people overall right now since the majority of the CEP is made up of reasonable people while at the same time your president has given Mentas Blaque, a racist monster no better than Heth, free reign to terrorize your own people).



That said, at the end of the day, I prefer the Caldari system of government since the people who vote on issues actually have some stake in it, and the people who rise up the ranks are theoretically the ones most capable (though, naturally every system has its share of bugs). I won't deny cultural bias likely plays a big issue in this opinion, but 5 years of less than stellar rule does not negate the many decades prior that did not have such issues.


Pieter Tuulinen wrote:

The reason why I seldom, if ever, take Seriphyn Inhonores' mouthings on the Federation and State seriously is because he lives in a Fantasy version of the Cluster where Democracy and Dictatorship are absolutes. In the Real Cluster that the rest of us live in Dictatorships are NEVER absolute and always rely on popular support and Democracies constantly conceal the truth and the levers of power from the masses.

Indeed, there is a huge rift between how things operate in theory and how they operate in practice.

Things always sound so wonderful and perfect on paper, but the second you actually start to use them, **** falls apart and you find yourself trying to fix problems and make everything merely good enough.
Veikitamo Gesakaarin
Doomheim
#31 - 2013-06-25 23:20:57 UTC  |  Edited by: Veikitamo Gesakaarin
Perhaps a few points to consider, Mr. Inhonores:

- The concept that Tibus Heth was a Dictator is primarily a Federal contrivance spawned out of ignorance for any political system that is not their own. The Office of the Executor was established in accordance with the legal framework of the Chief Executive Panel with a specific mandate related to labour reforms to be set by the Caldari Providence Directorate. Heth-guri was never a Dictator, and when it recently became clear that the former Executor sought to violate the laws of the State, usurp the CEP by the illegal use of the CPD as a paramilitary organization attempting a coup d'etat and overstepped the bounds of his mandate by not respecting the checks and balances of corporate governance expected of a Caldari Megacorporate leader so was he tacitly rejected by any citizen whom understands their duty and obligations to the Caldari State, Heiian, and the Raata Code.

- Liberal-democracy is rejected in the Caldari State, not out of a preference for systems of Dictatorship, but rather a recognition that while a democracy is ideologically premised on the concept of open dialogue and discussion the nature of representative party systems leads to a situation where once political parties do come into power their interests in dialogue and discussion ends in favour of seeking to retain their hold on governmental power. Democracy then becomes nothing more than a facade for lobbyists and vested interests to support one party or another who will advance their particular agendas and the pursuit of debate descends into the depths of partisan politics where parties and their representatives no longer act in the interests of their constituents but to advance the causes of the backers who fund their campaigns and keep them in power.

- The secession of Caldari colonies and corporations from the Federation in the War of Independence thus had little ideological basis but rather it was a recognition that what the Federation truly represented was a concerted attempt to subjugate Caldari corporations and by rightful extension their corporate citizens who lived on the colonies those corporations founded and built into a political and economic system that favoured Gallentean colonies and companies through the creation of a central government that they could control. The years after the formation of the Federation and the continued attempts to undermine the competitiveness of Caldari corporations through legislation passed by a Gallente dominated Senate only affirmed the notion that the Federation was nothing more than a tool to be used by Gallente economic interests to favour themselves to the detriment of Caldari corporations and colonies.

- The fundamental flaw of democracy in the Federation then is that its elected representatives and its government is just an extension of its corporate and economic interests. Many Federal citizens express their distaste for slavery and the Amarr Empire yet the Federal Senate was more than willing to ratify a Free Trade Agreement with the Amarr Empire at Girani-Fa with Quafe Corporation as intermediary. Why? Because the desires of the constituents and citizens of the Federation will always take second precedence to the the desires of the corporations who have greater influence in the Senate than they do. The Federation and State are both deeply capitalist and corporatist societies, the difference is that in the State we dispense with the fundamental fallacy, corruption and hypocrisy of democratic government in favour of a more honest approach.

- Caldari corporations may not have universal suffrage as the Federation knows it, but it does have a system of enfranchisement through the legal framework of the shareholding corporation. If recent years have shown anything however, I believe that the path to a more egalitarian and truly meritocratic society in the State lies in a wider adoption of the employee labour reforms of Ishukone and Gariushi-haan. It would also be in the interest of preventing future unrest in the Caldari State and the systemic abuses of power sought by Heth-guri and the CPD by seeking to adopt similar policies across the State in addition to an honest introspection on widening the scope of parent company stock acquisition to corporate citizens in addition to the role institutional investiture, particularly that outside the State, may have played in the crisis that have beset the State in recent years.

Kurilaivonen|Concern

Vikarion
Doomheim
#32 - 2013-06-26 00:36:14 UTC
Cyrus Alabel wrote:
And the only thing--the ONLY thing--that kept us from staying peaceful when we made our break was the Dragonaurs' (hmm, there's a familiar name) bombing of Nouvelle Rouvenor. Had that not happened, we may not be having this argument in the first place. (These days isolationism, frankly, seems like the better option, but that simply cannot be in today's world.)


This is false. The government of the Federation had already blockaded Caldari Prime for some time before the bombings. Given that Caldari Prime is not a very arable planet, this was not only a hostile act (blockades are generally acknowledged to be such), but also a deliberate attack on the Caldari civilian population's means of survival - food imports. The Gallente did not go for the Megacorps first, or the cobbled-together Caldari fleet, or even the deadspace colonies - they immediately went for threatening Caldari Prime with starvation.

And, moreover, when the Caldari attempted to evacuate, they shot down or turned back every civilian transport until the Gallente fleet was diverted or destroyed by Caldari actions, because they did not want to lose the Caldari workforce and Caldari consumers.

If you think that getting rid of Heth is going to make everything alright, you don't understand who the Caldari are.
Dex Nederland
Lai Dai Infinity Systems
The Fourth District
#33 - 2013-06-26 01:20:33 UTC
Veikitamo Gesakaarin wrote:
If recent years have shown anything however, I believe that the path to a more egalitarian and truly meritocratic society in the State lies in a wider adoption of the shareholding reforms of Ishukone and Gariushi-haan. For it is only by ensuring a more open and free investment and enfranchisement system through stock for more corporate citizens that we may hopefully prevent potential systemic abuses of power in the future such as with Heth-guri and the CPD.

I am sorry, what?

What evidence do you have that Gariushi-haan enacted some kind of shareholder reforms, which somehow did not result in Ishukone's Board of Directors kicking him out in favor of someone who wouldn't reduce their net-worth?

I could equally argue that similar reforms proposed and to some extent enacted by Heth-guri and overseen by the CPD have resulted in a more egalitarian and meritocratic society, despite the efforts of entrenched corporate investors to minimize wider corporate ownership.
Veikitamo Gesakaarin
Doomheim
#34 - 2013-06-26 02:42:31 UTC
Dex Nederland wrote:

I am sorry, what?

What evidence do you have that Gariushi-haan enacted some kind of shareholder reforms, which somehow did not result in Ishukone's Board of Directors kicking him out in favor of someone who wouldn't reduce their net-worth?

I could equally argue that similar reforms proposed and to some extent enacted by Heth-guri and overseen by the CPD have resulted in a more egalitarian and meritocratic society, despite the efforts of entrenched corporate investors to minimize wider corporate ownership.


The night was late Nederland-haan and I have amended the point made to state employee labour reforms of Gariushi-haan. I believe there is a reason Ishukone was the least affected by the unrest and agitation across the State that lead to the creation of the CPD and I believe it lies in the particular employee and work reforms Chief Executive Gariushi pursued in comparison to his predecessor Akkilen-haan.

My point on the need for seeking to continue corporate reforms and particularly on the point of shares and ownership still stands if we are to prevent future unrest. In the end, I believe reducing the role of institutional investment funds and instead widening stock ownership to actual employees and corporate citizens will assist in not only promoting re-investment by workers into their parent companies, but also increase the accountability of management and reducing the role of foreign influence in the affairs of the State.

To try and ignore the reasons as to why the New Meritocracy found such widespread support and thinking it will all just go away with Heth-guri without attempting to find solutions to issues relating to workplace corruption and lack of accountability in management means potentially repeating the past five years again.

I can only hope those with far more talent and ability than I who now sit on the Boards of the Okusaikan and Chief Executive Panel find those solutions as they lead our people into the future without the CPD.

Kurilaivonen|Concern

Amann Karris
Doomheim
#35 - 2013-06-26 05:07:04 UTC
Seriphyn Inhonores wrote:
While Gallentean democracy will not have the efficiency of Caldari meritocracy or the stability of Amarrian autocracy, it will have the pluralism that neither of those systems could enshrine. We all have our strengths, and we all have our weaknesses.

Pluralism exists throughout the entire cluster. One might even say New Eden, as a whole, represents the greatest cultural pluralism that could possibly exist.

Democracy is one form of government among many. Each has it's strengths. Each has it's weaknesses. The pluralism that exists here is beautiful. As my faith teaches, everything has it's place. Everything has it's purpose. We all have our parts to play, and who is to say that any single approach is "the right way"?

I was raised with the belief that the way of my ancestors was the only way. In spite of the pain and suffering it has caused others the majority believe this is correct. It pains me to see the suffering others cause, but when I see the atrocities that can be committed by my own people, I shudder at the thought of my people suffering similar or worse fates...

In the end, there is no single answer. There are many. Consensus is not truth, it is not reality, it is an illusion that divides and conquers us. This is true of any faith, any ideology, any government.

There are parallels of what has happened in Haatomo and what has happened in the Federation in the past. It is not a parable about the folly of corporate systems, it is a warning of excess and ignorance in any human endeavor. Where some see "Caldari" and "Gallente", why do we not see people?

It is an old question though. it also does not have a single answer.
Cyrus Alabel
Azure Wrath
#36 - 2013-06-26 06:19:08 UTC
Pieter Tuulinen wrote:
Sir, you ARE wrong about the State Protectorate, because it is mostly staffed by Patriots. The Provists are a tiny percentage of the Caldari people as a whole. If the State Protectorate was staffed only with them it would be tiny.


Then I simply ask for your forgiveness for my ignorance. I am not especially well-schooled on Caldari politics. Nevertheless, I wish to understand, not blindly criticize or hate.

And yes, democracy is flawed. As you yourself have said, reality does not deal in absolutes. Our democracy is marred by such things as the Black Eagles, and that oh-so-wonderful execution of Eturrer. On the other hand, I could sling similar culturally criticizing accusations about the Dragonaurs and the tea ceremony. But I don't.

Is our democracy inherently more moral than the Caldari meritocracy? In relativistic terms, no. But we both feel that on our own terms, our own systems are what we generally believe best for us. I'd like to think that, in the long run, our democracy works for each and every Gallentean citizen...even if our politicians are not always faithful to the freedoms we hold dear. Does it work for the Caldari? We already found the answer to that one. I would rather that we didn't keep perpetuating fights over something we already know the answer to. Humanity's way forward is through cooperation, not bloodshed.
Kim Ji-Young
Ji Young Kim Bap
#37 - 2013-06-26 06:30:19 UTC
I think democracy is rubbish, let's vote on it.
Galen Darksmith
Sky Fighters
Rote Kapelle
#38 - 2013-06-26 06:31:14 UTC  |  Edited by: Galen Darksmith
Cyrus Alabel wrote:
Then I simply ask for your forgiveness for my ignorance. I am not especially well-schooled on Caldari politics.


Most of ya aren't. Never stopped any of ya from runnin' their mouths before, though.

"EVE is a dark and harsh world, you're supposed to feel a bit worried and slightly angry when you log in, you're not supposed to feel like you're logging in to a happy, happy, fluffy, fluffy lala land filled with fun and adventures, that's what hello kitty online is for." -CCP Wrangler

Pieter Tuulinen
Societas Imperialis Sceptri Coronaeque
Khimi Harar
#39 - 2013-06-26 06:44:19 UTC
Cyrus Alabel wrote:

Then I simply ask for your forgiveness for my ignorance. I am not especially well-schooled on Caldari politics. Nevertheless, I wish to understand, not blindly criticize or hate.

And yes, democracy is flawed. As you yourself have said, reality does not deal in absolutes. Our democracy is marred by such things as the Black Eagles, and that oh-so-wonderful execution of Eturrer. On the other hand, I could sling similar culturally criticizing accusations about the Dragonaurs and the tea ceremony. But I don't.

Is our democracy inherently more moral than the Caldari meritocracy? In relativistic terms, no. But we both feel that on our own terms, our own systems are what we generally believe best for us. I'd like to think that, in the long run, our democracy works for each and every Gallentean citizen...even if our politicians are not always faithful to the freedoms we hold dear. Does it work for the Caldari? We already found the answer to that one. I would rather that we didn't keep perpetuating fights over something we already know the answer to. Humanity's way forward is through cooperation, not bloodshed.


Being wrong is no crime, Msr Alabel, only maintaining that view in the face of correction. I'll never take exception to a citizen of the Federation who doesn't know much about the culture of the State and wants to know more. If you have any specific questions, feel free to come see me or to ask me via mediums such as Eve Mail, The Summit or this channel here.

Now you must remember that we have never expressed a problem with you choosing to live your lives under Democracy. We also take no exception to the Amarrians following the Amarrian Faith or the Minmatar choosing a life of Tribalism - the key is that we expect the same consideration!

For the first time since I started the conversation, he looks me dead in the eye. In his gaze are steel jackhammers, quiet vengeance, a hundred thousand orbital bombs frozen in still life.

Vikarion
Doomheim
#40 - 2013-06-26 07:29:28 UTC
Cyrus Alabel wrote:
Is our democracy inherently more moral than the Caldari meritocracy? In relativistic terms, no. But we both feel that on our own terms, our own systems are what we generally believe best for us. I'd like to think that, in the long run, our democracy works for each and every Gallentean citizen...even if our politicians are not always faithful to the freedoms we hold dear. Does it work for the Caldari? We already found the answer to that one. I would rather that we didn't keep perpetuating fights over something we already know the answer to. Humanity's way forward is through cooperation, not bloodshed.


The stance of the Federation has been (historically and recently, as a brief perusal of previous news articles could tell you) that democracy is for everyone - whether they want it or not. The only major change in that doctrine was their eventual realization that they would not be able to realize that goal in the context of a humanity unified within one entity. Some still follow that last, too. But the Federation has never given up the assertion that democracy should be universal.