Stream on Human Rights and Government

Are human rights good for humans?

When a government fails its citizens, the citizens are responsible to revolt and replace the government. That idea is straight out of Rousseau and Locke, who started the human rights era. But since then, we've seen the pendulum swing too far the opposite way.

When an election is held where the voters are uneducated, the election becomes an immature popularity contest, of elementary school form.

As someone once said, "you need money to make money." With governments that last a maximum of four years around these parts, campaigns have become all about short-term promises, with people voting for whoever will give them what they want right now. And politicians, realizing the nature of the game, borrow against the long-term in order to get into office. Because of how short-sighted modern day democracy is, we are crippling our future.

Furthermore, most politicians we elect are old. They can say, just as Louis XIV of France once did, "Just keep the economy going long enough for me to die." Why would you expect any politician to worry about an environmental problem that won't emerge until long after they are dead?

Countries were often managed better during the monarchial era, because kings often ruled for 50 or 60 years. They were concerned about the future. And if a particularly stupid king took the throne, the people would revolt and a better equipped person would take control. The long-term view mattered back then; especially when their children's throne was at stake.

Poorly managed countries lead to poor futures. And when we speak of modern democracies, poor politics today means poor education policies, and therefore less intelligent voters in the future.

People have become so bombarded with information and data from "experts" that they no longer know how to think for themselves, but simply cite the most agreeable expert. A society that cannot think for itself is a society that is going nowhere. A democracy that cannot think for itself is a nation that cannot elect a proper government, and is doomed to failure.

Is the very concept of a short-term democratic government a parasite of the present feeding off the future? Can democracy by its very nature come with an expiry date?