Whats the best way to rule a country?

[Henrik]

It is many ways to run a society, but what is the most efficent?
Every form of government seems to have a bad side. Like Winston Churchill said it:

"Democracy is the worst form of government, exept all the others that have been tried"

What is your ideas for a perfect form of government?

[Holiday20310401]

If the bureaucrats were all sane (respectfully) philosophers. And ofcourse a pure democracy. Apparently its theoretical though.

[Didymos Thomas]

The perfect government is one governed by the perfect governors. If a monarch is perfect, and if a group of democratic representatives are perfect, neither is preferable - they are each perfect.

It's not about the form of government, it's all about the people who govern.

[iconoclast]

Didymos Thomas,

Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong... I couldn't possibly disagree more. The mistake you make is to think that power is exercised freely - indeed, that power equates with freedom, but it isn't and doesn't. Leaders of any system are presented with a limited menu of decisions, and a limited scope for action based on the dynamics of the system. The system is all important - the personalities are relatively insignificant.

iconoclast.

[Didymos Thomas]

The mistake you make is to think that power is exercised freely - indeed, that power equates with freedom, but it isn't and doesn't.

Actually, my statement does not rely on such an assumption.

Leaders of any system are presented with a limited menu of decisions, and a limited scope for action based on the dynamics of the system.

Sure, leaders have limited options. However, given that menu of options, the perfect monarch will make the best selection. The perfect democratic assembly will make the best selection. Hence the term perfect.

The system is all important - the personalities are relatively insignificant.

Ever read any Confucius?

Ah, I have a better idea, let's look at history. Germany's representative government, with free elections, allows the Nazi party to come to power and institute one of the most brutal regimes ever seen. If the German people had voted for more humane leaders, a terrible time in human history would have been avoided. Heck, the German people could have even reinstated an absolute monarchy and given the throne to a humane/wise/ect ruler to a similarly preferable effect.

The personalities are important. It took a **** Nixon to push the Hudson plan and an Ashoka to protect the environment.

edit - The censored word was short for Richard. Heh.

[Victor Eremita]

We all know Nixon is a ... Richard.

Ok let's see. How about Modified Marxism sprinkled with a little Rawls? The problem with so-called "Communist" states is we had some jerk that took all the glory, aka Dictator. Be it Stalin, Lenin, Mao, Castro, whoever.

In Modified Marxist fashion, no one person is leader. There may be a representative to deal with non-Communist states, but he is by no means a leader or dictator for the State. Everyone contributes to the State, and the State returns support back to the people.

To deal with the lack of incentive (and thus, innovation) in Communist fashion, we add Rawls' idea of the original position: No one person ought to be made worst off if they are the least advataged members, but there is still incentive for people who work the hardest.

A Marxian-Rawlsian state may not be perfect, but a State led by all the people for the people sounds nice to me.

[Ennui]

If people could work in solidarity and sanguine of alterations then there is democracy.

[Poseidon]

I would suggest a religious monarchy. The leaders view the people as an extension of the family, to be cared for in the best possible manner. Atheism just exploits people for the duration of a single generation and could not give a hoot what happens 40 years from now. Where did all the pension funds go?

Yes, any system can become corrupted, so a society with a strong respect for historical literature, is going to remember the errors of the past and learn from them. People are flexible for the right and wrong reasons. Society reinvents itself every couple of generations. Too much authority stifles ingenuity. Too much freedom destroys strong social structures. Perhaps the error is in thinking that systems govern people too strongly, whereas it is people that create and recreate systems.

Lots of paradox here. But ethics and aesthetics feed off one another.

[AtheistDeity]

Assuming everyone is a religious individual, Poseidon? When considering the lessons of history, I highly doubt that would go about peacefully.

[Henrik]

I think a dictatorship led by a super-human would be the best. This person should be able to read the feelings ant the minds of his subjects, and always act the most fair and logical way.

The opinion of the majority isn't always correct, If it's one person against a million, this poor little guy could be right. Therefore i don't think that democracy is a good form of government.


Since we cant have a super-human to help us, we have no choice today but to take use of democracy.