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Comment by contagiousflow | Hacker News Reader

How is that even a comparison? Governments are elected

Edit: To Americans, fix your own democracy before you think the idea of democracy is broken.

The idea that democracy is broken is a convenient piece of propaganda, promulgated by people who have something to gain by weakening the American government, whether that's financial or geopolitical.

The central tenet of techno-fascism / the hard alt-Right / the Dark Enlightenment, is that democracy itself is incompatible with "freedom" (as techno-fascists understand it).

And based on the replies, we're rapidly blazing down that path.

By rational people who can think in nuance, and aren't influenced by big campaign spending?

See countries outside of America for this.

You mean countries like Romania, who had their election forcibly cancelled because the EU is scared of Russian social media posts, and Germany, who thinks that a man giving a speech and promoting a certain party is election interference?

> Romania, who had their election forcibly cancelled because the EU

Well that’s wrong for a start. The election was cancelled by the Romanian constitutional court, not the EU.

Leon has tons of influence unfortunately all over, so yes it’s tantamount to interference. South African citizen shouldn’t have any say in politics outside of South Africa.

This is literally totalitarianism. What the hell? I shouldn't be able to say that I support the AfD just because I don't live in Germany?

No one's saying you can't. The equation changes when a foreign billionaire (and richest man in the world) is saying it.

If you think democracy is threatened because someone pledges their public support for a specific party, then you don't actually believe in democracy.

Answer to sibling about Romania Elections were nulled because of illegal campaign funding. Russia literally bankrolled the campaign and it wasn't reported as part of the campaign funding.

By many people, who tend to on average avoid fast motions to extremes. Much less volatile than billionaires.

There are democracies like that. But you need system with more parties and cap on campaign spending.

Yes. Many such cases. Big campaign spending need not be legal, let alone the norm.

https://rintintin.colorado.edu/~vancecd/phil215/Nozick.pdf

Well. That sure was a libertarian who thought he had a point.

Democracy: famous for never improving human rights and freedoms.

Is that supposed to make a difference?

In countries other than America it sure does...

That's what James Madison thought (see Federalist #51)

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