tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post2552967534678418073..comments2024-03-22T05:20:44.167-07:00Comments on The Disaffected Lib: US Slips on "Best Democracies" ScaleThe Mound of Soundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09023839743772372922noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post-20163413970318382342018-02-01T14:24:49.785-08:002018-02-01T14:24:49.785-08:00@ Anon 10:19.
If you're interested the Gilens...@ Anon 10:19.<br /><br />If you're interested the Gilens and Page paper is available free here in PDF<br /><br />https://scholar.princeton.edu/sites/default/files/mgilens/files/gilens_and_page_2014_-testing_theories_of_american_politics.doc.pdfThe Mound of Soundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09023839743772372922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post-1175161058040769182018-02-01T10:19:27.255-08:002018-02-01T10:19:27.255-08:00I was glad to read this:
Economic elites and narr...I was glad to read this:<br /><br />Economic elites and narrow interest groups were very influential: They succeeded in getting their favored policies adopted about half of the time, and in stopping legislation to which they were opposed nearly all of the time. Mass-based interest groups, meanwhile, had little effect on public policy. As for the views of ordinary citizens, they had virtually no independent effect at all.<br /><br />I was getting worried that I was reading too much left-wing media/blogs and my thinking was getting warped, but I now find that I am still in touch with reality.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post-39983971515319812962018-02-01T07:38:38.284-08:002018-02-01T07:38:38.284-08:00The Economist might also have taken a look at the ...The Economist might also have taken a look at the state of U.S. civil liberties. As Snowden's release of classified documents showed, Amerika has become a surveillance state that the most totalitarian of nations would salivate over.Lornehttp://www.politicsanditsdiscontents.blogspot.canoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post-4265920475473456142018-01-31T19:15:40.054-08:002018-01-31T19:15:40.054-08:00 We need to build a new set of political instituti... We need to build a new set of political institutions that are both more responsive to the views and interests of ordinary people, <br /><br />Should we do that we would have no sin taxes on products that cause us much grief.<br />We would also have a free for all on our roads with excessive speed becoming normal no gas tax ; the list is endless.<br /><br />The idea of one man one vote is overrated and delusional.<br /><br />Having said that , I cannot offer a substitute.<br /><br />Perhaps a means test as a prerequisite to casting a vote would be a beginning?<br /><br />TB<br /><br />Trailblazerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03436709163754934547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32931256.post-55086929860883558002018-01-31T15:54:28.914-08:002018-01-31T15:54:28.914-08:00You're right about the Economist being generou...You're right about the Economist being generous to the US, Mound. According to the EIU, "'flawed democracies' have free and fair elections (with possibly some issues such as infringements on media freedom) and respect basic civil liberties. However, there are governance problems and low levels of political participation."<br /><br />To call American elections "free and fair" is to twist those words far beyond their ordinarily accepted meanings. US elections are not free when voters are disenfranchised by government policy, see e.g. felons being permanently denied the right to vote and the chronic shortage of polling stations in districts with visible minorities. Nor are they fair when there are virtually no constraints on political spending, when gerrymandering is so extensive that there are only a handful of swing-states, and when the media feels the need to "balance" true stories about an inexperienced, incompetent and bigoted candidate from one party with untrue and misleading stories about the candidate from the other party. <br /><br />CapAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com