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Too optimistic

Reader comment on item: A Better World[, Explains Michael Mandelbaum]

Submitted by Benjamin Stephenson (Canada), Dec 27, 2002 at 09:10

Global peace is no nearer, I am afraid, than it ever was. Due to trafficking in small arms and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, much of the world is currently a war zone. Wars are simply fought more covertly, and with greater cowardice. Take militant Islamist militias for example. They are no less at war with North America than were the Nazis. However, they restrict themselves to a shadowy war war in which civilians are the primary target.

As for democracy, the optimism is again premature. Democracy is an artificial state of affairs, and must be nurtured by a concerned and active citizenry in order to truly work. However, the interest in the democratic process in many countries ( as expressed in voter turnout ) has dwindled over the past decades. We must remember two things about democracy. First, that it is still, relative to other forms of government, in its infancy. Communism took a few generations to fail. How can we be sure that the democratic experiment will never fail? Also, we should remember that democracy is not something stable, but something which requires the active participation of citizens.
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Reader comments (17) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
3The strength of democracy [250 words]Brian JacksonFeb 1, 2003 16:576231
Mandelbaum Premature? [440 words]Ruben PerlmutterJan 2, 2003 18:295434
4Democracy is dictatorship by the majority. [125 words]Goh Heung Yong.Jan 1, 2003 19:435393
Democracy [126 words]B DormanAug 31, 2006 20:335393
A Question of Race [44 words]Rophe OmegaMar 6, 2011 13:095393
Islamic history contradicts [30 words]Charles CouryJan 1, 2003 15:355384
Limited Government key [21 words]Ricardo PedrazaJan 1, 2003 13:345379
UK [112 words]IsaDec 28, 2002 10:455223
Peace, Democracy and Free Market [45 words]Muhammad SiddiquiDec 28, 2002 01:115211
Great Disaster [273 words]Dr Mac BarksdaleDec 27, 2002 23:095204
1Good ideology [250 words]MottyDec 27, 2002 20:575199
Re: peace, democracy, and free markets [212 words]David RomeroDec 27, 2002 18:105189
Mandelbaum [91 words]Martin SchulbergDec 27, 2002 16:075178
Islamic facisim [144 words]Glenn KlotzDec 27, 2002 14:205171
Vehement Disagreement with Mandelbaum [138 words]Sy SteinbergDec 27, 2002 10:425163
Too optimistic [190 words]Benjamin StephensonDec 27, 2002 09:105160
Totalitarian ideologies [252 words]AnonymousDec 27, 2002 04:585156

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