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From: The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid>
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers,comp.os.linux.misc
Subject: Re: OT ; Re: The joy of FORTRAN
Date: Wed, 2 Oct 2024 11:20:23 +0100
Organization: A little, after lunch
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On 02/10/2024 03:40, rbowman wrote:
> On Tue, 1 Oct 2024 22:00:58 -0000 (UTC), Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:
> 
>> And the USA? Some call it a “democracy”, and it does seem close to the
>> Athenian model -- perhaps a bit too close. Other nations have taken the
>> “all people are created equal” idea a bit more seriously, by observing
>> the obvious corollary: if everybody is equal, their votes should count
>> equally, too.
> 
> Unfortunately it is only an 'idea' not a reality. This was understood in
> the Manusmṛti.  The Rígsþula from pre-Christian Europe didn't have as many
> distinction but follows the pattern. 'Equality' was an Enlightenment
> concept that grew out of 'we're all god's children'.
> 
> I'm sure you know people who have made shambles of their personal lives.
> They should have a vote? Democracy leads to mediocrity and worse.

Google the 'iron law of oligarchy'.

All Democracies tend to turn into Oligarchies.

-- 
“The fundamental cause of the trouble in the modern world today is that 
the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt."

    - Bertrand Russell