• alcoholicorn@lemmy.ml
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      2 years ago

      It states that in a perfect democracy, the masses would elect morons because they themselves are morons.

        • alcoholicorn@lemmy.ml
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          2 years ago

          It implies that the people are too dumb to govern themselves; that as they get get closer to a perfect democracy, the choose dumber leaders.

          • cannedtuna@lemmy.worldBanned from community
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            2 years ago

            Implies? It’s not exactly very subtle about it. The joke is how unfortunately prophetic it is.

            • alcoholicorn@lemmy.ml
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              2 years ago

              Apparently it’s too subtle for anyone who didn’t interpret it as antidemocratic.

              The joke is how unfortunately prophetic it is.

              Do you think the US is meaningfully democratic? When’s the last time any leader did something that favored the people over capital?

              • cannedtuna@lemmy.worldBanned from community
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                2 years ago

                I feel like the quote has gone over your head just a tad. The joke/quote is saying as time progresses people will continue to vote against their own best interest and eventually elect someone as moronic as the common people. And well here we are. It’s been a long time in coming yes, we’ve gone through a number of presidents who progressively did less and less in the interests of the people till we got here and elected the absolute worst person with only self interest at heart.

              • cannedtuna@lemmy.worldBanned from community
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                2 years ago

                Sadly it wasn’t exactly wholly undemocratic. It wasn’t even what you could call close. There were attempts voter suppression and intimidation, but in the end voter apathy won out. I don’t think there’s anything dumber than choosing not to vote in such an important election, but that choice in itself was a vote.

                • Justin@lemmy.jlh.name
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                  2 years ago

                  Yeah, I don’t mean that this election was rigged or anything, I just mean that the US presidential election isn’t really the combined will of every single American. Other countries have more democratic systems. Even the house races are more democratic.

            • alcoholicorn@lemmy.ml
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              2 years ago

              No not at all, hence why I’m not antidemocratic. Democracy didn’t give us Trump, the dictatorship of capital did.

          • Fontasia@feddit.nl
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            2 years ago

            It’s not a bug, it’s a feature. Perfect representation would actually by sortition (selection of public office by jury duty type random selection), but that scares people because “I don’t want just anybody to be in power” but that doesn’t stop people who should from getting it

            https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sortition

      • Fontasia@feddit.nl
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        2 years ago

        Yes.

        “Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.” - George Carlin