Comments on: How Development Leads to Democracy http://www.thefighting44s.com/archives/2009/04/05/how-development-leads-to-democracy/ Uniting the Asian Conscience Fri, 18 May 2012 00:08:54 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 By: Dialectic http://www.thefighting44s.com/archives/2009/04/05/how-development-leads-to-democracy/#comment-8021 Dialectic Mon, 06 Apr 2009 09:31:37 +0000 http://www.thefighting44s.com/?p=924#comment-8021 See, this is the kind of shit I'm talking about. My last comment was a fucking joke, but a joke with a point. The point is this: know what you're talking about before you talk. Having not read the paper, you expose your ignorance. No one is saying democracy is an ultimate or inevitable outcome of modernization; what the paper is saying is that modernization creates a set of conditions which increase the probability of democratic reform, but there are pressures which work in the opposite direction as well. It's also saying that democracy is the most stable and efficient political system for modernized industrial societies; the weaknesses of hereditary autocracies are evident, and Singapore is hardly in a sustainable end-state: what happens when some douchebag takes over? Your point about democracy not representing minorities very well is trivial, and also misses another point: it represents minorities a hell of a lot better than what came before. Have you read about what it's like to live in countries with autocratic ethno-religious rule, when you're not part of the ruling ethno-religious group? Finally, you should read papers before agreeing or disagreeing with them. See, this is the kind of shit I’m talking about. My last comment was a fucking joke, but a joke with a point. The point is this: know what you’re talking about before you talk. Having not read the paper, you expose your ignorance. No one is saying democracy is an ultimate or inevitable outcome of modernization; what the paper is saying is that modernization creates a set of conditions which increase the probability of democratic reform, but there are pressures which work in the opposite direction as well. It’s also saying that democracy is the most stable and efficient political system for modernized industrial societies; the weaknesses of hereditary autocracies are evident, and Singapore is hardly in a sustainable end-state: what happens when some douchebag takes over?

Your point about democracy not representing minorities very well is trivial, and also misses another point: it represents minorities a hell of a lot better than what came before. Have you read about what it’s like to live in countries with autocratic ethno-religious rule, when you’re not part of the ruling ethno-religious group?

Finally, you should read papers before agreeing or disagreeing with them.

]]> By: SamuraiJack http://www.thefighting44s.com/archives/2009/04/05/how-development-leads-to-democracy/#comment-8020 SamuraiJack Mon, 06 Apr 2009 04:53:47 +0000 http://www.thefighting44s.com/?p=924#comment-8020 "Finally, if don’t read this and ever try to talk to me about how politics, values, law, and race work, I will not respect you, and I will regard you intellectually as little more than a marmoset." huh? Do you mean to say that even if someone presents a valid argument without reading the above, you'll regard them as intellectually inferior? While already I've come to the same conclusion as this paper, I disagree with the part that democracy is the ultimate outcome of modernization. Case in point, Singapore. As long as people's needs are met, or appear to be met, then people who protest will be in the minority. I'd also like to add that democracy does not necessarily bring freedom, especially for minority populations. It's interesting to note that there the anti-thesis to this article is also on the same page provided in the link, "Why democracies excel", which I disagree with. “Finally, if don’t read this and ever try to talk to me about how politics, values, law, and race work, I will not respect you, and I will regard you intellectually as little more than a marmoset.”

huh? Do you mean to say that even if someone presents a valid argument without reading the above, you’ll regard them as intellectually inferior?

While already I’ve come to the same conclusion as this paper, I disagree with the part that democracy is the ultimate outcome of modernization. Case in point, Singapore. As long as people’s needs are met, or appear to be met, then people who protest will be in the minority.

I’d also like to add that democracy does not necessarily bring freedom, especially for minority populations.

It’s interesting to note that there the anti-thesis to this article is also on the same page provided in the link, “Why democracies excel”, which I disagree with.

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