Archive for the ‘Democracy’ Category
Rushing democracy is anything but 'wise'
Editorial Desk
The Nation
Publication Date : 27-12-2014
There are two ways to look at American government "concern" over Thailand's leisurely "return to democracy". Perhaps Washington has zero faith in our military regime and thus assumes that, the sooner Thais get back to the ballot boxes, the better. Either that or it hasn't been following the Thai crisis closely and is merely reading from its pro-democracy manual when reacting to reports that a general election is unlikely to take place until 2016.
Make no mistake: Thailand needs democracy. Its the only way to go. But if the countrys inability to hold an election next year prompts the US to use such biting words as "unwise" and "unjustified" - as reported by Reuters - we're clearly not getting much sympathy. Thailand already had one election nullified earlier this year amid simmering political strife. America must consider the possibility that Thailand wants to make sure that doesn't happen again.
Again, make no mistake: If our government tries to delay the election beyond a reasonable timeframe, all criticism will be justified. For now, though, it would do Washington no harm to reread reports about the high tension, bombings and murders in broad daylight that marred the run-up to the election last February.
The prelude to that vote might have been viewed differently in America, but people here were under extreme stress, and threats of a wider violence and even a civil war were real.
The United States is entitled to withhold faith in the Thai government. A large portion of the Thai public must harbour doubts too, if not outright mistrust.
However, it if for the people of Thailand to decide exactly when an election should be held. "Unwise" and "unjustified" are strong words that should be used only by observers who have genuine, unbiased knowledge of the situation. To call our vote delay "unwise" is tantamount to saying an election sooner would be "wise" even though more innocent children might die in political violence.
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Rushing democracy is anything but 'wise'
Pro-democracy protesters return to Hong Kong streets for 2nd night, 37 arrested
Published December 25, 2014
HONG KONG Hong Kong police arrested 37 people overnight Thursday as pro-democracy protesters returned to the city's streets for a second night demanding open nominations for the semi-autonomous city's chief executive, according to police.
The police said in a statement that protesters blocked five roads overnight in the Mong Kok neighborhood and disobeyed police orders to clear out. The age of the arrested protesters ranged from 13 to 76.
Police arrested 12 protesters in the same neighborhood overnight Wednesday, also after they had blocked roads.
The Facebook page of a pro-democracy activist group called Hong Kong Shield said protesters walked by the three protest sites over the two nights, singing political-themed songs and holding the umbrellas that have become a symbol of the city's democracy movement. Some in the crowd wore red Santa Claus hats and chanted "I want true democracy" in Cantonese.
The group is led in part by well-known Hong Kong singer Denise Ho, who was arrested this month during the police clearance of the main Admiralty protest site.
The police statement said police "respect the public's freedoms of expression, speech and assembly" but warned that protesters "should refrain from conducting public meetings and processions by way of the so-called 'mobile occupation.'"
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Pro-democracy protesters return to Hong Kong streets for 2nd night, 37 arrested
Hoppe on Democracy, Progress, and the State
[This is David Gordons introductory essay to Hans-Hermann Hoppes new book From Aristocracy to Monarchy to Democracy.]
Hans-Hermann Hoppe is a master of theoretical history. He tells us that
it is not my purpose here to engage in standard history, i.e., history as it is written by historians, but to offer a logical or sociological reconstruction of history, informed by actual historical events, but motivated more fundamentally by theoretical philosophical and economic concerns.
The work of Carl Menger and Ludwig von Mises on the commodity origin of money is a prime example of what Hoppe has in mind.
In carrying out his illuminating project, Hoppe finds himself in opposition to the dominant way of looking at the evolution of government. According to this perspective, government has over the centuries become ever more democratic. Rule by the people is the final form of government; once it has been reached, history, at least as far as government is concerned, has ended. This historical movement, further, is a good thing. It is the triumph of freedom. History is the story of progress.
Hoppe is not a complete pessimist like the Gloomy Dean W.R. Inge, who, in his famous Romanes Lecture of 1920, denounced the superstition of progress. To the contrary, Hoppe thinks that in economic life, the Industrial Revolution enabled mankind to achieve an unprecedented level of prosperity.
In government, though, matters are entirely different, and here Hoppe is a firm opponent of progressive orthodoxy. For him, rather, history in this area is a tale of a fall not from the Garden of Eden but rather from a reasonable way of settling disputes.
How would real, rational, peace-seeking people have solved the problem of social conflict? ... What people would most likely accept as a solution, then, is this: Everyone is, first off or prima facie, presumed to be owner endowed with the right of exclusive control of all those goods he already, in fact, and so far undisputed, controls and possesses. This is the starting point. As their possessor, he has, prima facie, a better claim to the things in question than anyone else who does not possess these goods and consequently, if someone else interferes with the possessors control of such goods, then this person is prima facie in the wrong and the burden of proof, that is to show otherwise, is on him. However, as the last qualification already shows, present possession is not sufficient to be in the right.
Hoppe assumes that everyone agrees on the appropriate principles for settling property disputes:
The criteria, the principles, employed in deciding between a present controller and possessor of something and the claims of another person are clear then, and it can be safely assumed that universal agreement among real people will be reached regarding them.
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Hoppe on Democracy, Progress, and the State
Hong Kong Police Arrest 37 Pro-Democracy Demonstrators In Second Night Of Protests
HONG KONG -- Police in the city arrested 37 pro-democracy protesters overnight, in the largest action taken against demonstrators since protest camps in the city were cleared earlier this month. The arrests came on the second consecutive night of protests in the area.
In a statement, police said that demonstrators had blocked roads in the busy shopping district of Mong Kok overnight, and defied orders to leave. Those arrested ranged in age from 13 to 76, according to The Associated Press. About 300 demonstrators took part in what police called an illegal occupation, which turned into a five-hour stand-off between protesters and officers. Those arrested face charges of disorderly conduct in a public place and criminal damage, according to the South China Morning Post.
The arrests followed protests in the city on Christmas Eve, in which around 100 protesters blocked roads and unfurled banners reading, We want true universal suffrage, and attempted to march on government headquarters.Police made 12 arrests at the Dec. 24 protest.
This week's protests have been the first to see significant numbers of arrests since police moved, in early December, to clear out the three protest camps that had paralyzed parts of the city for over two months. Although the protest camps were cleared in a mostly peaceful manner, with most protesters agreeing to leave voluntarily, a core of strong supporters remained at each protest site and defied police orders to leave, prompting hundreds of arrests, but no violence.
Despite the end of the occupation, activists in the city are keen for the pro-democracy movement to continue in a different form. Demonstrators who spoke to International Business Times during the clearance of the main protest siteearlier this month envisioned the movement continuing with more mobile tactics, or sporadic large protests around significant holidays.
Activists had struggled to make any headway on achieving their aims during the occupation, with the Hong Kong government saying that it lacked the authority to change a ruling from the central government. Protesters are seeking to elect the city's next chief executive by international democratic standards, but China has ruled that all candidates for the post must be approved by a committee stacked with Beijing loyalists.
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Hong Kong Police Arrest 37 Pro-Democracy Demonstrators In Second Night Of Protests