Kinda?! There are many democracies, it’s a big old subject with a lot of propaganda.
E.G. some argue (not me exactly but I am idiot) that proportional representation is still part democracy and part authoritarian, as elitism and corruption are enabled by having career politicians and power behind closed doors. So in that argument everyone has to represent themselves equally in matters of group power to be democratic. Pretty much a synonym for anarchy in the political, not idiomatic sense. It requires enormous organizational skill though.
So the best we seem to be able to maybe pull off is some kind of balancing act, managing authority like our teutonic overlords the house of Windsor, to real power on Bay St. and Ottawa. Mixing that with the long history of common law, which needs refurbishing, and something where votes are not discarded.
So I guess proportional representation is good enough eh, maybe shore up the Bill of Rights a little too. Pragmatism and compassion is how we represent ourselves, so let’s do it.
I get where you’re coming from about elitism and corruption. Those issues can definitely come from career politicians and decisions made behind closed doors. But I think the answer isn’t to ditch proportional representation; it’s about bringing in reforms like term limits and having politicians put their assets in blind trusts. That way, we can keep things more transparent and accountable in our Canadian system.
As for the idea of anarchy, I think it’s important to remember that democracy, while not perfect, gives us a way to make decisions together. Winston Churchill said it best: “democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.” We need to keep working on improving our democratic processes instead of throwing them out.
And I totally agree that we should strengthen the Canadian Charter of Rights. A solid Charter helps protect our freedoms and ensures everyone has a say in our democracy. By focusing on making our systems better, including through proportional representation, we can create a fairer and more representative system for all Canadians.
Yes I agree, an effective anarchy would require a heavy communicative overhead and a lot of constant decision making for each person, so we are generations away from achieving the enormous amount of organization that anarchy would require at national scales.
Compromise is the Canadian way, which is embodied in proportional representation.
Also happy pie 🥧 day!