Re: Nuclear Waste, Science, & Politics

["Fritz A. Seiler" <faseiler@NMIA.COM>]

Michael Dupray wrote:



> >

> > > because 51% of the people in a democracy may be against a particular

> technology is not reason enough to eradicate that technology

> On whether or not we are in a true Democracy, I would recommend reading the

> Federalist Papers. You will see that our founding fathers were well educated

> and had great foresight prior to framing a strong foundation for our current

> form of government. They knew that a true Democracy would decay to mob rule

> and become extremely vulnerable to dictatorship/monarchy. And, so, they

> developed a government that allows the politician/representative to make

> decisions based not just on the desires of the constituents but also for what

> is good for the people/country (as we have seen, this is not always the case).

> That is why we have the Electoral College (to prevent mob rule). Our form of

> government does not support majority rule. If it did, .....well use your

> imagination. There are fewer well educated people of good moral value capable

> of making well informed/educated decisions to the benefit of all than there

> are those who are more emotional less morally acceptable character.

>

> The freedoms we have established in our constitution could, and probably

> would, be lost if our leaders succumb to populist desires that are easily

> corrupted by charismatic and morally bankrupt politicians.

>



Hi All,



        I do not agree with everything said above, but I enthusiastically

support the notion of a somewhat indirect democracy based on using the over last

year's end much maligned Electoral College . I grew up in Switzerland which is

also a somewhat indirect democracy, so I intimately know how two of the oldest

democratic countries in the world work on the inside and where that basic system

continues to work almost incredibly well (in the long term, at least).

        As for direct democracy, particularly in the context of risk assessment

and risk management, let us look at what a great friend of the young United

States had to say.  The Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859) was a great

admirer of the US and wrote two books on  "Democracy in America" in the first

half of the 19th century.  The first book was completely enthusiastic, but in

the second one he sounded some notes of caution as in the quote that I usually

give below.

        Our present situation begs the question: Is this what is happening to us

now?



Best regards



Fritz

--



 " The American Republic will endure until the day Congress

 discovers that it can bribe the Public with the Public's money."

                                       Alexis de Tocqueville

                                       Democracy in America



***************************



Fritz A. Seiler, Ph.D.

Sigma Five Consulting

P.O. Box 1709

Los Lunas, NM 87031, USA

Tel.    505-866-5193

Fax.    505-866-5197

e-mail: faseiler@nmia.com



***************************





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