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Comment by kazagistar | Hacker News Reader

Wouldn't doing right be having a proper referendum, ideally with international oversight, to get the real answer to the question? Everyone likes to think they are on the side of a majority, but its talking out of your ass til you actually do the democracy.

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Is simple majority enough to split a country, change the constitution, and change the citizenship of millions of citizens? Some people think it would require a qualified majority for such a change. How big? Maybe a 70%, and 80%? A referendum when we are in the 50%-50% is a dangerous proposition, and against the law, and definitely will make the things worse.

That is a very reasonable question, and Brexit is also relevant in that discussion. Perhaps it would be a good idea to require a qualified majority for cases like this.

Why does not the status quo require some qualified majority?

The status quo was already established by a very qualified majority. Changing it should require a qualified majority too.

It's the same reason a thermostat is not constantly switching on and off when you cross the set temperature. Heating will start when you go a couple of degrees below the desired temperature, and it will only stop when you reach a couple of degrees more. Else, you have an unstable system (this is not my opinion, it's very basic control systems theory).

Amendments and changes to the Spanish constitution require a qualified parliamentary majority.

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