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spaceman_2020yesterday at 10:07 AM7 repliesview on HN

I don't understand why Americans continue believing that democracy is the only way for every population in the world

Why would Russians want democracy? Or the Chinese, for that matter? There have been zero democratic impulses in their societies across hundreds, even thousands of years.

The west needs to rest its democratizing mission and accept that every society is fundamentally different

My country (India) got a "thriving" democracy, but because there is no real democratic impulse in the society, everything on the ground has devolved into what the society was always like - quasi-feudal bureaucracy


Replies

akmilleryesterday at 12:45 PM

> I don't understand why Americans continue believing that democracy is the only way for every population in the world

They don't! The majority voted for the guy who wants to, admittedly (multiple times), be a dictator and is huge fan of other dictators. If he finds a way to stay for a 3rd term his most loyal followers along with all the republicans in Congress will be just fine with it.

8noteyesterday at 11:09 PM

people might not be excited about democracy, but they are about individual rights and freedoms

people can tell when their rights are being unjustly infringed upon, even without the verbiage.

democracy is just a handy way of working with individual rights

hootzyesterday at 10:40 AM

>I don't understand why Americans continue believing that democracy is the only way for every population in the world

Well, ideology. I believe my way is the only way for every population in the world too, and I fight for it to happen. Of course, each place adapts to their own condition, but I believe my core ideology is the way for humanity as a whole, and I believe it is the same for people who defend western american-style democracy.

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wiseowiseyesterday at 8:14 PM

> Why would Russians want democracy?

Could be something to do with almost 400 years under czar heel and then 70 years under commie repressions and mismanagement that yielded one of the worst crises in the history of the country that is still being mentioned with fear (90s, brrrr).

> There have been zero democratic impulses in their societies across hundreds, even thousands of years.

> Russia

What the am I even reading. Educate yourself before making such claims. Decembrist movement, 1905 revolution, 1917 provisional government, constant unrest after the death of mustached cunt, perestroika. Navalny recently died in prison for fighting for democracy, ffs. The only reason why we're having current Russia is because the West royally fucked up by not economically supporting them in 90s and allowing oligarchs to usurp vast soviet empire resources.

naileryesterday at 10:17 AM

> Or the Chinese, for that matter?

The marched for it en masse in 1989?

Russians and Chinese are also people. They deserve to rule themselves.

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sofixayesterday at 11:45 AM

> I don't understand why Americans continue believing that democracy is the only way for every population in the world

It's not Americans, it's educated people who believe in personal liberties.

> Why would Russians want democracy

Because they would have a choice if they want to be robbed blind by a bunch of oligarchs, and if they want to be sanctioned off from the world because the supreme leader decided he wants to kill and maim a million Russians to achieve nothing more than killing Ukrainian civillians.

> There have been zero democratic impulses in their societies across hundreds, even thousands of years

Absurdly bad historic revisionism. Russia had democratic impulses in 1917 and 1990, both hijacked and went nowhere. China's 1911 revolution was also overtly democratic in nature, but was also hijacked.

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