"The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter."
Churchill
Election 2024
- Thread starter brb
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"The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter."
Churchill
m the man on the street gave us brexit. All to stop brown people and to get back control/have bent bananas.
Crucial to any democracy is that the 'average voter' must have easy and reliable access to the information he might need to form his political opinion and inform his vote.
Theoretically, this should be the role of a free and open media, but sadly in most democracies these days the media is carefully curated and controlled by government and special interest groups, is rarely genuinely 'free' and is deliberately saturated with the type of inane drivel that serves to distract rather than educate (e.g. celebrity gossip, sport, the fact that Kate editing a photo was considered headline news for two weeks etc.).
Mainstream media will also focus on foreign affairs with alarming disproportionately. We spend appx 0.5% of our GDP on foreign aid, but roughly 70% of our 'news' is stories from overseas which bear little to no relevance to us other than again - serving as a distraction from real and relevant domestic problems, while simultaneously fabricating the illusion that things could be much worse and thank goodness we aren't over there where all that war/suffering/famine is.
Theoretically, this should be the role of a free and open media, but sadly in most democracies these days the media is carefully curated and controlled by government and special interest groups, is rarely genuinely 'free' and is deliberately saturated with the type of inane drivel that serves to distract rather than educate (e.g. celebrity gossip, sport, the fact that Kate editing a photo was considered headline news for two weeks etc.).
Mainstream media will also focus on foreign affairs with alarming disproportionately. We spend appx 0.5% of our GDP on foreign aid, but roughly 70% of our 'news' is stories from overseas which bear little to no relevance to us other than again - serving as a distraction from real and relevant domestic problems, while simultaneously fabricating the illusion that things could be much worse and thank goodness we aren't over there where all that war/suffering/famine is.
The system is built and maintained to keep them as divs.
Orwell was spot on when it came to this.
I suppose, but I mean, you CAN be informed. There's not a better time in human history to inform yourself, there's forums, hundreds of news sites both big and small, encyclopedias of information.
But, you have I would say 15% of Britain who read the Mail or the Sun and vote only Tory "cos me Dad did"
Then you have the same number in the Norf who only vote Labour cos of the same reason!
There's a genuine argument to be made that Tory's maintain support in some areas through cheaper booze you can get by being a member of the Tory clubs.
Yup, water off a ducks back mate.
Can't be arsed, my thought process is a bit numb today. He's generally treated as the forum idiot anyway, and membership to the anti Everton mob seems pretty full at the minute. I still hope they stay up tbf.
Can't be arsed, my thought process is a bit numb today. He's generally treated as the forum idiot anyway, and membership to the anti Everton mob seems pretty full at the minute. I still hope they stay up tbf.
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You make a good point and in theory it should work but we've reached a bit of a tipping point in that any media outlet with a massive reach (i.e. fitting the definition of easy to find and accessible) is invariably dominated by the ills I mentioned above.
Social media is a cesspit of misinformation and unreliability, unless you do careful research re who to follow and who to trust.
Mainstream media, even those outside of the Mail and Sun circles, is too carefully controlled and opaque, and spends far too much time pissing about with celebrity non-news and/or stuff happening on the other side of the world that just isn't relevant to the average bloke on the street (but he thinks it is, because every front page says so).
Schools don't teach basic political knowledge unless you choose to take it as a topic at GCSE and A-level. If you don't, you'll easily drift through 12-14 years of 'education' without ever learning how our electoral system actually works and what happens when you cast a vote.
Given all of that, it isn't surprising that people will just vote in kind with their local neighbourhood/family tradition. It's pretty much the only piece of information they posses that is accessible and trustworthy, even if it is flawed.
None of this is unique to the UK. But in terms of democracy itself, some countries manage it better than others. It is about public awareness and interest in current affairs and politics but also about each country's political framework AND the way politicians conduct themselves.
I also think you should be fully aware of what's happening both domestically and internationally. The idea in the modern age, that we should view ourselves in isolation and aren't impacted by foreign affairs is not true. The economic effect of the war in Ukraine, the dependency of imports from places like China on global warming, and the dependency of investment into businesses which reduce freshwater supplies in countries to grow and supply food and materials e.g. cotton - are easy examples that affect us all, even the impact of war on refugees and those currently crossing the Channel to get here affects us. It's no surprise that Americans are probably the thickest electorate on the planet because few have any fcking clue what's going on outside their town or state, let alone the wider world.
I also think you should be fully aware of what's happening both domestically and internationally. The idea in the modern age, that we should view ourselves in isolation and aren't impacted by foreign affairs is not true. The economic effect of the war in Ukraine, the dependency of imports from places like China on global warming, and the dependency of investment into businesses which reduce freshwater supplies in countries to grow and supply food and materials e.g. cotton - are easy examples that affect us all, even the impact of war on refugees and those currently crossing the Channel to get here affects us. It's no surprise that Americans are probably the thickest electorate on the planet because few have any fcking clue what's going on outside their town or state, let alone the wider world.
Can't be arsed, my thought process is a bit numb today. He's generally treated as the forum idiot anyway, and membership to the anti Everton mob seems pretty full at the minute. I still hope they stay up tbf.
The dream scenario is surely they go down by a point behind Forest and thus the two Forest got back made the difference. Looton will be fine.
Sheffield United, Burnley and Luton would be my preferred three for relegation, having said that , Luton have been more exciting to watch than Everton. As long has Palace don't go down then I don't really care out of the current bottom five.
Can't be arsed, my thought process is a bit numb today. He's generally treated as the forum idiot anyway, and membership to the anti Everton mob seems pretty full at the minute. I still hope they stay up tbf.
I'm ambivalent on it ... don't really care who goes down with Forest ...or whose place we'll be taking next season ...
I wonder whyResults of this election a foregone conclusion, tax cuts and "inflation halved"
Has not moved the polls.
Labour for like 400 seats.
Rest picking scraps
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They might just be really good at IT and keep offering the best value after a thorough tender process.