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Petitions
A politician once argued against the introduction of direct democracy by quoting
an adviser to Charlemagne who supposedly told his King 1200
years ago that 'the clamour of the mob is often close to insanity'. That may
well be so but we could also point out any number of politicians whose actions,
and even more so whose opinions, would be called insane by a wide majority of
the electorate. We also have serious doubts as to whether Charlemagne
would make a suitable leader in today's political landscape. Maybe some
politicians would love to decide policies in the same way that Charlemagne could
do - without having to consider the wishes of his people (who were still subjects
in the true sense of the word).
In a similar vein the argument that supporters of a petition against rearmament in the 1930s were
misguided cannot be used against the use of direct forms of government either as
it does not prove that policies - or the outcome of policies - would necessarily
have been different in the absence of the petition.
Calls for the reintroduction of the death penalty also do not stand as arguments
against direct democracy are also often quoted as indications of the danger of
direct democracy. But who is to decide that
the majority is wrong if a call for the death penalty would be carried in a
referendum?
Nor can we accept the argument that plebiscitory democracy
'will take us away from rational decisions'. In our opinion, a
rational discussion of any policy is only possible if the public at large and
all points of view can be aired and all voters have the final say on the issue -
not only politicians that are beholden to parties, the party whip or lobbies
that operate behind closed doors and have privileged access to the media and the
decision makers.
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Decisions you would be able to influence:
By giving the
reader examples of recent policy decisions we highlight the dramatic
impact the introduction of Direct Democracy would have on the
political life of all countries.
All the following decisions where taken without the participation of
the affected citizens. Some - if not most - were highly
controversial and have a negative effect for at least some major
parts of the country's population.
The present system of government
not
only leaves the citizens powerless in the face of a never-ending
tide of legislation, it also inevitably leads to
inefficient use of taxpayer's money and a steady erosion of civil
liberties.
Full list of
decisions the citizens could influence
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GENERAL
Nuclear Powers impose further sanctions on Iran
Should former politicians be allowed to cash in from books and lecture
tours?
Unequal regional distribution of tax burden
Forum demands that climate tax be redistributed on global basis
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CLIMATE CHANGE AND POPULATION
Cap-and-Trade of Carbon Permits and ideal vehicle for fraud
Green Energy plan may cost 17 times more than its benefits
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EUROPE
European Council
members must put interest of the Union above those of their own
countries (Lisbon Treaty, Article 9)
EU prepares
expanded sanctions against Iran
MEP wants tax on carbon-intensive products
EU wants introduction of body scanners on Airports
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UNITED KINGDOM
Minister
states: British forces will be among the last to come home from
Afghanistan
Wind farms will
increasingly dominate most picturesque landscapes
7.6 billion car trip entries stored by police
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DEUTSCHLAND
Solar
Subventionen
erreichen 85 Mrd. Euro
Neue Steuer auf USB Medien
Hartz IV Empfaenger zahlen nicht fuer Strom, Gas
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OESTERREICH
Transparenzkonto: Parteifinanzen ausgenommen
Feinstaubkompetenz fuer Laender und Gemeinden
Mehrwertsteuergrenze manipuliert
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