--- Andrew Crystall <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > What would that be? I for one would certainly argue > that every > democracy so far has had a definate weakness in > terms of long term > planning and stability.... > > Andy
The oldest written Constitution in the world (the oldest single government in the world in some political science databases) is democratic (the United States). Britain has, depending on the definition you use, been a stable democracy since some time in the nineteenth century (most poli. sci. databases use the late 1860s, after some Reform Act or another - I can't at the moment recall which one). Since the Second World War, no democratic government with a per capita income (inflation adjusted) over $3000 / year has ever relapsed into dictatorship. The number may be a little low - it's been a while since I read Fareed Zakaria's work on the subject. In any case, the evidence seems to suggest that democratic governments are considerably more, not less, stable than their autocratic counterparts. ===== Gautam Mukunda [EMAIL PROTECTED] "Freedom is not free" http://www.mukunda.blogspot.com __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Calendar - Free online calendar with sync to Outlook(TM). http://calendar.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
