• blade_barrier@lemmy.ml
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    15 days ago

    If the Roman Republic, isn’t democratic enough for you, then, as I said, we could talk about the Athenians

    Athenian democracy existed for less than 200 years and Athens were a village with 10k population. Might as well just talk about US so that democracy doesn’t embarass itself.

    Or perhaps the Iroquois League.

    What about it?

    The merit and utility of a system of governance is measured by how long it lasts

    Yep.

    What are you talking about, and send some links to back up whatever that is.

    What’s not clear to you? You said it yourself: “>The merit and utility of a system of governance is measured by how long it lasts”. Let’s conduct a thought experiment. What’s better, your current government, or or new ideal government that has perfect conditions for its citizens, but only lasts for 1 day and then the state collapses?

    • Rusty Shackleford@programming.dev
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      15 days ago

      A dictatorship may last for millennia, but the duration of a system of government’s continuity is not the sole, nor most important, attribute when judging its legitimacy, utility, merit for all its citizens.

      You’re taking a teenage edgelord’s, or if serious, a sociopath’s dictator’s position, as if that’s something to aspire to be.

      • blade_barrier@lemmy.ml
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        15 days ago

        but the duration of a system of government’s continuity is not the sole, nor most important, attribute when judging its legitimacy, utility, merit for all its citizens.

        1. Not all government forms have the institution of citizenship

        2. Why isn’t longevity the most important attribute? Any organization’s goal is to last as long as possible. All other goals come second.

        You’re taking a teenage edgelord’s, or if serious, a sociopath’s dictator’s position, as if that’s something to aspire to be.

        Unrelated to the discussion, ad hominem.

        • Rusty Shackleford@programming.dev
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          15 days ago

          Once again, duration is irrelevant to the claim of legitimate authority because time doesn’t solely and objectively provide any evidence of people’s willing acceptance of that group or individual’s authority. This is more commonly known as the social contract via consent of the governed.

          The group/individual, of course, can make claims to not needing said consent via spurious arguments like the one you’re making, but the claim does nothing to objectively show any utility, and thus, merit, for the populace they seek to exert power and influence over.

          Basically, if you say “I’m in control forever because I’ve always been in control and my goal is to always be in control.”, most thinking people, including myself, would rightly say “Gargle my bullets after gargling my balls.” Also, your reasoning on why you have to be in charge has no bearing on whether you being in charge is good for people, good at the task of governance, or even objectively good for yourself.

          A similar argument to what you’re saying would be, “Ford makes the best cars because they have been making cars the longest.” It’s demonstrably false, to use your own words.

          Whether you consider my opinion of your opinions and you as ad hominem or not is irrelevant.

          • blade_barrier@lemmy.ml
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            15 days ago

            your reasoning on why you have to be in charge has no bearing on whether you being in charge is good for people

            You being good for people is secondary, less important parameter.

            effective at the tasks of governance

            I guess if your country managed to survive for 74 years before collapsing on its own, then we can conclude you were not effective.

            Ford makes the best cars because they have been making cars the longest

            This is not my argument. But if Ford really is the oldest car manufacturer, then it definetly scores them some points as a car manufacturer. It doesn’t mean their cars are good.