• lemonflavoured@kbin.social
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    11 months ago

    “Britain is one of the oldest democracies”

    Is it?

    We didn’t have full and equal universal suffrage until 1924. Even ignoring that, elections before about 1832 were barely democratic in a lot of places.

  • tygerprints@kbin.social
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    11 months ago

    Right, Britain isn’t a democracy it’s a monarchy. And it’s often been said that, no society can really afford a monarchy. So, it can also be said that all essential human rights and freedoms are always under threat, somewhere, by some group or other. All you can really do is hang onto the crumbs you have and fight for what those rights are or protest about them (or vote in a democracy). No matter how democratic the nation, essential human rights are always under the threat of extermination by some bigoted group or another.

    • Kusimulkku@lemm.ee
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      11 months ago

      Right, Britain isn’t a democracy it’s a monarchy.

      The two are not mutually exclusive.

      • tygerprints@kbin.social
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        10 months ago

        Well I’m not meaning to say that they are mutually exclusive I was just clarifying. I hope there is an underlying democracy throughout.

      • tygerprints@kbin.social
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        10 months ago

        Wow. (I’m staggering backwards). I’m just happy someone finally agrees with me on this forum!! I’m too used to “you’re an idiot” comments, obviously. Thanks for that! : )

  • tardigrada@beehaw.orgOP
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    11 months ago

    I largely agree with the article’s content and meaning, but the title is somewhat misleading imo as Britain is not a democracy.

    • Nighed@sffa.community
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      10 months ago

      The UK is a democracy. Some may argue about how good of one it is, but it is one.

      The whole monarchy being technically all powerful is really a break glass in case of emergency thing. They can intervene once, then we would be a republic. (See 1975 dissolution of the Australian government by the crown)

      • tardigrada@beehaw.orgOP
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        10 months ago

        Well, I agree to some point. You know certainly more about the UK than I do (I’m not British), and you’ll also know about ‘royal interventions’ like this or that.

        But I’d say this kind of lobbying is a reality in other European democracies, too, even without a royal family. There are just other interest groups trying to influence laws.