Flame — HabitableZone

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Is democracy not a principle?
Robert — (archived)

The Achilles Heel of democracy, so robust and resistant to so many other threats, is that it can be destroyed when its practitioners spurn it. If democracy is made possible by institutionalized compromise, then aren't you spurning democracy when you spurn compromise in the name of even high principle?

What principle do you hold more important than democracy? Is laissez-faire capitalism so valuable to you that you'd give up democracy for it? Lower taxes over democracy? Smaller government over democracy? What end is worth bringing down the whole works rather than compromise?

And after you've brought it all down, are you sure that the reins of power won't pass to someone whose interests aren't so aligned with yours? Can you understand that compromise is how a democracy protects the interests of all equally, over the long haul?

"we must all hang together, or we shall all certainly hang separately"...Can naturally fractious humans hang together without compromise?

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