Democracy comes to the English Channel as the island of
Sark, the last
feudal government in Europe,
is switching to a semi-democratic system. Previously, only the 40 landowners, out of a population of 500, could vote, and the
island was ultimately ruled by a lord, the Seigneur. Though the "serfs"
were quite happy with the arrangement, the winds of change arrived in the form of the
enigmatic billionaire Barclay twins and the European Court of Human Rights. One old Norman law that still remains, however, is the "
Clameur de Haro" where any person can demand the immediate end of any action that infringes their rights by yelling "Haro, Haro, Haro" and reciting the Lord's Prayer in French.
posted by blahblahblah
on Mar 10, 2006 -
58 comments
With "freedom" as a goal of US policy, what are the real benefits of democracy? In the developing world, no democracy has
ever had a famine as Nobel-winner
Amartya Sen demonstrated, and citizens of democratic nations have
equivalent economies, longer lifespans and better educations than autocracies. Unfortunately, it appears that
democracies do go to war with each other (although
less, statistically). On the other hand, high levels of political freedom
decrease terrorism and prevent
genocides. Obviously, democracies
also do bad things, but is there a better form of
government?
posted by blahblahblah
on May 30, 2005 -
29 comments
