| | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy
Democracy is a form of government in which all citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal (and more or less direct) participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law. It can also encompass social, economic and cultural conditions that enable the free and equal practice of political self-determination. The term comes from the Greek: δημοκρατία – (dēmokratía) "rule of the people",[1] which was coined from δῆμος (dêmos) "people" and
κράτος (Kratos) "power", in the middle of the 5th-4th century BC to denote the politcal systesm then existing in some Greek city-states, notably Athens following a popular uprising in 508 BC.[2]
- Demokratia, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, "A Greek-English Lexicon", at Perseus
- ^ Democracy is people who rule the government directly.BBC History of democracy
Wikipedia then goes on to dissemble direct democracy, parliamentary, and republican governments, constitutional monarchies with "upper chambers", etc., etc.
If the Greeks had had Delphic insights, they might have kept the fascist Colonels in order to have someone else to blame now. Of course, with that kind of vision, they probably would have instituted a gold-backed currency, open banking, zero tariffs; paid for their limited government with an embarrassingly modest sales tax on luxury goods; and made themselves the freeport of three continents. Koine would have replaced German as the lingua franca of Europe. ... and we'd all be sleeping in our own beds with Goldilocks.
Ah, well... We can only hope that the riot police don't get hurt by the hooligans.
(Edited by Michael E. Marotta on 6/30, 8:58am)
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... the EU has said Greece has wasted funds on extravagant social welfare programs, raising mandatory minimum wages for all employees and allowing union workers to retire early on generous pensions that Europe can no longer subsidize. Many Greeks say they should not be forced to pay for a crisis they believe politicians have caused.
