I know my argument is weak. I’d be the first one to rip it to shreds. For one, I’m mixing at least three issues:
- The relative merits of Labor and Liberal policies.
- The selfishness of people, which leads them to vote based on their hip pocket.
- The purpose of a national economy.
There really is no coherency to the argument. In a debate, I’d be shot down. For example, if we were arguing issue 2:
| Joan 1: | “That’s the point of democracy, Joan. If a policy is important to enough people, it will be weighted accordingly. If it benefits enough people, it will be voted in. By being selfish, the majority of people will be better off.” |
| Joan 2: | “But people are ignorant and short-sighted. You can’t rely on them to develop policy that benefits the country as a whole for the long term.” |
| Joan 1: | “Well, what alternative do you propose? An all-knowing benevolent dictator who will force us to accept what’s best for us?” |
| Joan 2: | Sigh. “No. I just wish people would think about other people and the future, that’s all.” |
I could easily have similar arguments with myself about the other issues.
Your argument is not weak, it is just condensed. It covers many issues, all of which are important and so deserve their little bit of space (as much as is available in a blog entry).
By being selfish, the majority of people will be better off in short term only. If they weren’t selfish, they’d be better off in the long term as well. This is actually very similar to Prisoner’s Dilemma.
Viewed superficially, you might claim that the problem is democracy. However, the real problem is a lack of education, moral and otherwise. Most people don’t understand the depth or relevancy of various policies, and, disturbingly, most people don’t even care.
By imposing a dictatorship, you are effectively telling everyone else that they are too stupid to make any decisions. While this may be true, the more desirable solution is to educate and involve them, rather than try to control them. It’s equivalent to delegating work as opposed to taking it all upon yourself.
beldar
Benevolent dictatorships are the way to go! Viva le Machiavelli! 😛