@shavixmir saidNavalny is. I don't know about others. He returned to Russia knowing he would likely go to prison though. It isn't like he couldn't have avoided it. How dumb is he?
Are his political opponents in prison?
I heard he was convicted of fraud. What fraud was he alleged to have done?
@metal-brain saidYeah that’s right why don’t we let you tell us what we are allowed to say, you seem a reasonable and knowledgeable individual.
...so stop claiming Putin is a dictator unless you can prove it.
😂😂😂
@no1marauder saidSo if the ‘people’ decide to bring back slavery based of skin colour that’s ok because that’s how democracy works?
Just admit that "safeguard" is anti-democratic.
Democracy means "rule by the People" (https://www.britannica.com/topic/democracy) and if the People can't choose the representatives they want because of an arbitrary rule, you don't have a democracy.
@no1marauder saidi was being sarcastic. with all the things listed
Term limits are actually anti-democratic; they take away the People's right to be represented by whom they please.
But if Russia is a "democracy", it's a pretty poor one.
@vivify said"In theory, yes; in reality, no."
In theory, yes; in reality, no.
Dirty, immoral tactics to influence elections is no secret. Whether that includes gerrymandering, the rich and powerful buying elections with their wealth and influence, politicians lying and deceiving voters, or outright election rigging, the "People" are from the sole factors determining elections.
A despot with enough charisma, power ...[text shortened]...
To be against term limits assumes that elections will usually be fair and honest. That's naïve.
Also in reality.
"To be against term limits assumes that elections will usually be fair and honest. That's naïve."
No. It means no one vision can grab power for too long. Because democracy is about the process not about one individual or one group.
@kevcvs57 saidFor almost 18 years on this Forum, I've made clear I believe in Natural Rights theory (look at my Forum avatar though I doubt you know who it is).
So if the ‘people’ decide to bring back slavery based of skin colour that’s ok because that’s how democracy works?
In case you don't know what that is: "Locke wrote that all individuals are equal in the sense that they are born with certain "inalienable" natural rights. That is, rights that are God-given and can never be taken or even given away. Among these fundamental natural rights, Locke said, are "life, liberty, and property."
"The purpose of government, Locke wrote, is to secure and protect the God-given inalienable natural rights of the people."
https://www.crf-usa.org/foundations-of-our-constitution/natural-rights.html#:~:text=Locke%20wrote%20that%20all%20individuals,%2C%20liberty%2C%20and%20property.%22
Maybe you can figure out the answer to your question based on those sentences.
@zahlanzi saidIf the People support "one vision" it should "grab power" for as long as they wish.
"In theory, yes; in reality, no."
Also in reality.
"To be against term limits assumes that elections will usually be fair and honest. That's naïve."
No. It means no one vision can grab power for too long. Because democracy is about the process not about one individual or one group.
@Metal-Brain
You are not demented; therefore you are deliberately stirring up trouble with lies you KNOW are lies. What a pathetic life you must live, kissing Putin's ass daily, getting paid with a paper bag in the zoo.
@sonhouse saidWhat lies?
@Metal-Brain
You are not demented; therefore you are deliberately stirring up trouble with lies you KNOW are lies. What a pathetic life you must live, kissing Putin's ass daily, getting paid with a paper bag in the zoo.
You need to prove I am wrong. You must be sucking Biden's tool. You are too emotionally involved.
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@metal-brain saidI thought the breakdown of recent political history in Russia provided a very useful framework for this discussion. Sorry you didn't have time to read it. It doesn't seem like a Democracy by the standards of political scientists.
That is a very long article that doesn't prove anything, just makes allegations without proof.
Russia holds elections. Can you prove they are rigged or something like that?
@wildgrass saidDamn, you smacked MB down faster than harder than the average Oscar’s presenter!
https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/russias-road-to-autocracy/
@no1marauder saidLife!
For almost 18 years on this Forum, I've made clear I believe in Natural Rights theory (look at my Forum avatar though I doubt you know who it is).
In case you don't know what that is: "Locke wrote that all individuals are equal in the sense that they are born with certain "inalienable" natural rights. That is, rights that are God-given and can never be taken or even gi ...[text shortened]... and%20property.%22
Maybe you can figure out the answer to your question based on those sentences.
Liberty!
Property? WTF is that then?
Health, freedom and cupboards…
The right to safety, the right to security and the right to sofas.
Sounds to me like Mr. Locke had a grand vision of humanity and then got paid by the horse-drawn cart industry.
Well, you know what Meatloaf said: “Two outta three ain’t bad!”
@metal-brain saidIn all fairness, you have 1/2 a point.
...so stop claiming Putin is a dictator unless you can prove it.
Russia’s elections under Putin are referred to as hybrid. Which means it’s a mix between authoritarian and democracy.
Wikipedia sums it up so:
Elections in Russia have not been free and fair under Putin's rule. Political opponents are jailed and repressed, independent media are intimidated and suppressed, and electoral fraud is rampant.
To actually comprehend what that means and how the analysists reach these conclusions, means you’ll have to do some research. Start here:
https://books.google.nl/books?id=NZDI05p1PDgC&redir_esc=y
https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/how-dictatorships-work/8DC095F7A890035729BB0BB611738497
https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/origins-of-dominant-parties/397B36B2A0015D88D58743EEDB5BD0B4
@shavixmir saidNo, it's still three out of three:
Life!
Liberty!
Property? WTF is that then?
Health, freedom and cupboards…
The right to safety, the right to security and the right to sofas.
Sounds to me like Mr. Locke had a grand vision of humanity and then got paid by the horse-drawn cart industry.
Well, you know what Meatloaf said: “Two outta three ain’t bad!”
"Locke is unambiguous about the meaning of “property.” In Chapter IX of his Second Treatise he specifically says that he means the word to include one’s life and freedom as well as one’s physical possessions. All of Chapter V is devoted to explaining what property is, and here too, his quite clear that “every man has a property in his own person.”
https://www.adamsmithworks.org/documents/smith-and-locke-on-property
And there's the Lockean proviso:
"which states that whilst individuals have a right to homestead private property from nature by working on it, they can do so only "at least where there is enough, and as good, left in common for others"."
https://dbpedia.org/page/Lockean_proviso
A proper understanding of Lockean principles makes them incompatible with laissez faire capitalism or other hierarchical systems based on unfettered exploitation of other people's labor. They do recognize the right to obtain tangible and nontangible things by our own labor.
@shavixmir saidAs usual you didn't prove anything. Neither did wildgrass.
In all fairness, you have 1/2 a point.
Russia’s elections under Putin are referred to as hybrid. Which means it’s a mix between authoritarian and democracy.
Wikipedia sums it up so:
Elections in Russia have not been free and fair under Putin's rule. Political opponents are jailed and repressed, independent media are intimidated and suppressed, and electoral fraud is ra ...[text shortened]...
https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/origins-of-dominant-parties/397B36B2A0015D88D58743EEDB5BD0B4
Wikipedia is not a reliable source of information. If it was you would have accepted this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetic_vaccine
You undermined your own source of information. You have to prove Political opponents are jailed and repressed, independent media are intimidated and suppressed, and electoral fraud is rampant under Putin's rule. Saying it is not enough. Everybody says things they cannot prove. You need to prove it.