Democracy can be worse than useless

October 1 2014

Democracy can be worse than useless

The first great democracy, in 5^th century Athens, with all citizens voting, showed the dangers of democracy when the people are uninformed.

The citizens voted for an attack on another city for the sake of glory and gold, and had a catastrophic defeat; they treated a rebellious island with the utmost cruelty; they followed a charismatic leader and then rejected him so that he led their enemies against them; they squabbled over an oligarchy.

We should all consider how democracies can fail, before seeking to impose them on other countries