Democracy without illusions: a realist view

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1 pointyamrzou2 comments

One take on electoral democracy is that it's not about the right to elect the person you want but about the right to un-elect a person you don't want. That is, there was no peaceful way to get rid of Louis XVI in France in 1793 so they had no choice but to do him in. It's as much for the good of the rulers as it is for the rules.

They didn't have to do in Louis XVI. He had already been deposed, and he had publicly accepted it. He was later tried for treason, and the National Assembly voted to execute him -- by a one-vote margin.

The resulting "republic" instituted a period known as The Terror, followed by the empire of Napoleon. That ended with the monarchy being restored.

In other words, while Louis' monarchy was no great shakes, I'm not sure that democracy did any better.

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