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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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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 lnot
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.
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GENERAL
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
EU wants to
attract more refugees
EU Parliament
costs Euro 1.5 Billion annually
Monster Trucks up to
60 tons may be allowed
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UNITED KINGDOM
Parents may lose right to boycott school sex lessons
Britain to support $ 500 Mio donation to
Taleban
Committee calls for additional tax on air travel
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GERMANY
Solar Subsidy reaches
20 billion Euro
New tax on USB memory
sticks
Free Gas, Power for Unemployed, Hartz recipients
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AUSTRIA
VAT thresholds manipulated
Teenagers over 16 allowed to vote
Parties change Members of Parliament at will
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