Hacker News Reader

Comment by mikeash | Hacker News Reader

“If you remember nothing else about the superiority of democracies to other forms of government, remember the fact that in three years, we will have a change of leadership and almost no one is stocking up on canned goods to prepare for the inevitable civil war.” - http://slatestarcodex.com/2013/10/20/the-anti-reactionary-fa...

I would go so far as to say that the peaceful transition of power is the defining advantage of democracy.

View on HN

Democracy, or that standards of living are so high its not worth it to deviate from the status quo? With no political science knowledge, I'm willing to have my view challenged and changed. I think there are 2 elements that are more important than democracy in and of itself.

1. High standards of living that alter the risk-reward ratio for making a political change

2. The rise of Corporations - these days, people view the government as a bureaucratic, slow, and useless entity with decent, but low pay. People aspire to work and move up the ranks in private corporations. The role of the government has been greatly reduced in the ordinary lives of citizens. That means the necessity of making a grand political change is just not as important as it was historically.

I think high standards of living help a lot to prevent popular revolutions. But I don't think they do anything to stop violent infighting in a succession dispute. The people at the top are usually well off no matter what, and their goal is more power.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com