If you were the heir to a dictator...

[Inactive]

I would choose some middle path. You can't just say "we're a democracy now", hold elections, and expect to have a well functioning government. There are plenty of recent historical examples which show us that.

I think a slow transition towards greater democracy would be best for everyone. It would probably have to be a multi-generational process. You would have to try to create a greater sense of nationalism within your population. They would need to feel loyalty to the abstract concept of the nation state, rather than the person, or the dynasty that rules over them. They would need to have respect for the laws, and the traditions of the nation. They would need to have some sense of community, and responsibility for one another, derived from shared history, and/or values. In order to instill those values in the people, you would probably have to strongly control the media, and school system, so that you could feed them propaganda from an early age. But if they're going to vote on national policies at some point, you also need them to be well educated, and well informed. So, you would have to find some way to balance that out. You would probably end up limiting their access to information at an early age, in order to indoctrinate them, but when they reach university you let them learn about the real world.

Once that nationalistic democratic culture is in place, and you have a well educated population, with a strong sense of civic responsibility, who are hungry to take part in politics, you can start creating and delegating responsibilities to democratic institutions.


More to the point of the thread: Would I choose to be selfish, and hurt or kill others, but rich and powerful as a result? Or would I choose to be ordinary, and cooperate with others?

I would choose to be ordinary.

[TheReal Kendall]

C. Fvck all the virgins in my country

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