As I am sure you know Yorkie, the treatment out here is regarded as some of the best in the world, yet quite a lot of it is privatised. If you need a blood test or x-ray it will often be done by a private company, but the results are available on the spot or the next day. My daughter often complains that by the time she sees a set of test results the person's condition can have changed. The problem in both countries is the soaring costs. At the end of the day if people want a good service they have to pay one way or another. When I had to have my tendon sewn back together all of the hospital treatment was covered by the state health scheme, but I had to pay for my board and lodging. The physio was 70% covered by the state, with me picking up the remainder. If you wish you can take out secondary insurance to cover any costs not paid for by the state, or if you have a long standing condition you will get 100% paid for. So to my mind it does not matter how you pay for it, as you will if you want the best, but rather how any government uses the money it has decided to raise for that service. Clearly some have ideas about getting a good deal for the services, whereas I have no idea what some of the political parties would do if they ever came to power.
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/politics/article4140426.ece You will have to pay to read the whole article... but the Greens are not going away....
Is democracy an outdated concept? With ever increasing populations and a tendency for birth rates to be higher in the less desirable elements in society how can we restore the natural order if relying on majority rule? I do believe we need a new form of government and system for appointing.
We would need to define 'democracy' before answering this one. It is one of the most used words - but one we very rarely, if ever, try to define. Why, because the best way of stopping somebody from fighting for something is to convince them that they have it already ! Democracy is a man made thing and ,like man, has a period of birth - growth - decline and death (like all man made things) it is therefore not a 'thing' but rather a process - the minute you say you 'have it' it's gone. The use of the expression `natural order`implies that there are natural leaders and naturally lead in any society and that the most perfect system is the one in which the natural leaders (through struggle) rise to the top - an ideological pillar of Facism and Totalitarianism because this 'fear of democracy' was their central pillar of belief. We cannot call a system a democracy in which people vote every four or five years between a limited range of options. Where ideas come only from the political parties (only 1% of the population in Britain) and simply receive a yay or nay from a passive population. Democracy has to be an ongoing thing involving an active politicized (and informed) population and also has to establish the 'democratic' principle in decision making in industry, education the army etc. and not just within the narrow World of politics. Where you have corporations, which have established monopolies, and become economically (and politically) more powerfull than nations, and have no trace of the democratic principle in their decision making processes, then democracy is dead.
So.... in the major powers.... democracy is dead... Bit of a laugh eh... .when 'we' go to war for democracy and freedom etc etc...
Democracy is a word that comes from the Greek meaning rule by the people. That has come to mean rule through elected representatives using majority voting. We have that so we live in a democracy. Whether our form of democracy is perfect or not is a debate that people will always have differing views upon.
See post 51 on 'Natural Order'. I read recently that Britain has 3 times more teenage pregnancies than anywhere else in Europe. One of the more common sentences in modern English being 'Our Tracey's up the club again and she's only 13 !`. It must be very frustrating for you to think that every one of Tracey's 12 kids will one day have voting rights - and I agree that the Chav population appears to be becomming the dominant life form in many towns of England (The only life form in Luton ?). But what are you suggesting - some form of elitism ? In any case Tracey's 12 kids will probably be non voters.
The term has indeed many interpretations Leo. Liberal Democracy vs. Direct Democracy etc. But whatever definition you use you are left with the problem of ensuring that the people you actually elect (if using the former system), have the power to execute your wishes - which within our finance or corporate dictatorships (called democracies) is mostly not the case.
In my view, our form of democracy is impossible to implement, an MP is elected to represents his constituents but most find it impossible to vote in favour of his constituent's views if they don't match his/her own!
Only a sideways move in salary terms, but at least he can't do anymore damage with his pet projects. It remains to be seen what his successor will be like though - I'm wondering if we can read anything into the acronym for her remit - Education Women & Equalities....
I really don't know the answer for an effective solution. The "democracy" we have here in the UK and indeed the principals upon which the majority of the West are run are becoming outdated and not fit for purpose. I do believe there are leaders and there are human units that need to be managed and should not have a right in determining who governs (rights should come only with capability to use effectively). As the global population outgrows the planet there are some really tough decisions coming up albeit hopefully beyond my lifespan and those decisions need to be made not by populist leaders but real high intellect individuals with the capability to make proper assessment and come up with proper sustainable solutions. Indeed its the chav element I can do without together with travellers etc. who claim human rights even when they behave as animals.
