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Horus
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THE WORLD SEES U.S. AS BIGGER THREAT TO DEMOCRACY THAN CHINA & RUSSIA

Post by Horus » 06 May 2021, 20:09


Halafi Mengedi
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Re: THE WORLD SEES U.S. AS BIGGER THREAT TO DEMOCRACY THAN CHINA & RUSSIA

Post by Halafi Mengedi » 06 May 2021, 20:24

delusional beggar chigaram breader, first meet your budget to pay all government employees. You live on others payroll as chigaram country.

Fiyameta
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Re: THE WORLD SEES U.S. AS BIGGER THREAT TO DEMOCRACY THAN CHINA & RUSSIA

Post by Fiyameta » 06 May 2021, 21:25

Quiet honestly, there is no universal definition for the word democracy. Our Eritrean definition of democracy, for example, largely differs from the notion as applied to other countries that treat elections as the ultimate yardstick for democracy. The Eritrean democracy, by our own definition, is rooted in social justice values of equitable distribution of resources, such as access to clean drinking water, education, health services, food, housing and basic necessities. Our track record in this regard is all out in the open for all to see.

In the larger African context, however, where most countries are recipients of Western food-aid and foreign-aid, holding national elections every 5 years to elect a candidate that can get them more aid, is really the antithesis to the democratic ideals of social justice that is supposed to play a huge role in improving the quality of life for the citizens. So the question now becomes: Which comes first, bread or democracy? In my opinion, a hungry African man who sees democracy as the vehicle to get bread, needs saving from himself.

Horus
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Re: THE WORLD SEES U.S. AS BIGGER THREAT TO DEMOCRACY THAN CHINA & RUSSIA

Post by Horus » 06 May 2021, 23:15

Fiyameta,

I think, when most people talk about democracy, they have a more or less paradigm case. Democracy is primarily a political concept- it has to do with political decision, political judgment, political administration - in short who should choose and decide how a community is governed (ruled). The simple answer is every citizen of that particular political community must choose and decide how the community is governed. So far so good.

In antiquity, when the population of a village or a city state was so small, the entire adult age population will gather in one place or a City Hall and decide on everything and assign certain to carry out the decision or the whole community would carry out the decisions.

As population grew, direct democracy grew into indirect (representative democracy). Government formed itself separate from the voters, governors became elected to represent the citizens - one official came to represent 1000s of citizens or voters. This is how election arose.

Election is only one aspect of democratic governance; it is not the whole thing. Since, the representative is a sort of an agent, a power of attorney for every citizen, the manner of electing that person takes the center of democracy. And, every political right and obligation the citizens flows from that election process.

Defective election process produces a defective government. It is that simple. In modern days, there are other central social issues that have become core elements of democracy in addition to the classical political democracy.

These include economic, cultural and social democracy broadly speaking. These include economic democracy (justice) & cultural democracy (national question). In all of these cases the community can assign political, economic, and cultural tasks to government. That is not a problem; each community can decide what the functions of the state should be.

But in all of these varieties of a democratic order, the foundation of the system, the quantum of the democracy is the free, autonomous, sovereign individual citizen. This is the foundation of the entire political system.

Where does political and social power come from? It comes from the individual free citizen. Voting is the mechanism by means of which he/she deposits his/her power (natural rights etc)and in the elected governing body of that political society. All other founding principles
and organizing principles have failed. Observe the Ethiopian case where the ethnic group or the tribe was used as the quantum of ethnocracy (not democracy).

Can a society be free, just, and equitable without voting, election, choice and decisions of every citizen of the community? Can there be political freedom individuals, economic equity and social justice in a society ruled by a group of unelected, unaccountable, more or less permanent persons? The historical evidence says no. These would kings of feudal states, dictators of pre and post feudal states such as oriental despotism, authoritarianism, fascism, etc.

The issue about the priority of political freedom vs, economic prosperity - it is a totally false question. There is no evidence that shows the inability of a politically free democratic people to achieve economic development (prosperity). On the contrary most authoritarian development models have failed on both counts - they are neither free, nor prosperous.

If I was an Eritrean, I would choose to be free and prosperous at the same time or in that order! ኬር!

Naga Tuma
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Re: THE WORLD SEES U.S. AS BIGGER THREAT TO DEMOCRACY THAN CHINA & RUSSIA

Post by Naga Tuma » 07 May 2021, 15:25

Fiyameta,

The case for democracy boils down to legitimacy. That legitimacy follows delegating through expressed votes.

If I were in your district, I may readily vote for you and happily see you work on your vision as my legitimate representative. That means vote is earned and delegation is made legitimate. That makes the political relationship between both the giver and earner secure. Its absence makes both insecure.

I think Horus has explained in detail this premise of democracy.

I understand this is easier said than done given our region’s and Africa’s recent political history and current economic capacity. However, I fail to see why transitioning to that kind of healthy democratic political relationship between the public and public servants can’t be a common vision for all.

DefendTheTruth
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Re: THE WORLD SEES U.S. AS BIGGER THREAT TO DEMOCRACY THAN CHINA & RUSSIA

Post by DefendTheTruth » 07 May 2021, 15:48

Horus wrote:
06 May 2021, 23:15

As population grew, direct democracy grew into indirect (representative democracy). Government formed itself separate from the voters, governors became elected to represent the citizens - one official came to represent 1000s of citizens or voters. This is how election arose.
So, according to this statement it means also that the old Prof. of Ethiopian descent (Abera Meshasha) wanted to circumvent the indirect way and rather keep adhering himself to the old direct democracy, by writing his own constitution by his own and starting to enforce it on a soverign state so that the latter would going to implement it, all these by hook or by crook at the same time?

He didn't like to have any kind of representational democracy, isn't it?

Horus
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Re: THE WORLD SEES U.S. AS BIGGER THREAT TO DEMOCRACY THAN CHINA & RUSSIA

Post by Horus » 08 May 2021, 03:15

Yes, Abera Meshesha is essentially one man party. The draft constitution could be viewed as his party program. And, he has no right to impose his party program on others prior to a legitimate election by which he must be elected by the people to make his party ideology the policy of the government. He may have a beautiful draft constitution but so long as he tries to implement it by means of non electoral or armed or insurrection he will qualify to be labeled a terrorist.

Fiyameta
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Re: THE WORLD SEES U.S. AS BIGGER THREAT TO DEMOCRACY THAN CHINA & RUSSIA

Post by Fiyameta » 08 May 2021, 08:27

The truth is, as far back as the 14th century, my Eritrean ancestors were practicing written customary laws of democracy called ሕጊ እንዳባ when the Greeks were swinging from the branches of olive trees they called home-sweet-home.

Centuries later, however, when the Greeks came down from the olive trees and developed ship-building skills, their merchants ventured into the Red Sea -- a coastal region that was a thriving global center of commerce at the time-- and they used the Greek word Erythraeus on their nautical chart to help them navigate through the coastal region efficiently. The Greek merchants traded their olive oil for the fine goods the region had to offer, before sailing away carrying stolen copies of our Eritrean written customary laws which they later savagely plagiarized, removed everything quintessentially Erythraeus about it, and sold it to the world under their Greek brand of Democracy.

It is, therefore, cognizant of these little-known historical facts that, when the white man tries to force us to import democracy into Eritrea, our response is.... Can you sell snow to the Eskimos, Sand to the Arabs, ጤፍ to the Ethiopians, Rice to the Chinese, Potatoes to the Russians, or ቁልቋል to the Tigray? :roll:

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