Do you favour big government?

[TMaNw2338h]

In Canada, I think we have big government who have their hand in too many aspects of our lives. I believe in the free market and would prefer a smaller government. My biggest beef is that the government is so inefficient. I know several public empoyees who are so much more inefficient and less productive than my counterparts at work.

I believe certain things need to be governed but I think we can be more productive as a country if we decrease the size of our government.

So do you prefer a BIG government or a small one?

[spol]

There is no option in your poll for those who don't believe in any form of small or big government.

[Blockwork]

aw hellllllllll naw..

big government = small liberty

tell me how a few hundred people can decide whats best for millions?..

[Agafaba]

aw hellllllllll naw..

big government = small liberty

tell me how a few hundred people can decide whats best for millions?..

Hypothetically one could have a system where each of those members would be representatives of different areas. They would be decided through some sort of voting system, where the masses could choose who would speak on their behalf.
Personally I think I would call it democracy, hypothetically of course.

[Tornado F2]

You mean Slitheens like the Ford brothers? ;)

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tklI4cCZIBc/Ti-uFd6supI/AAAAAAAAHc4/gD3aqiMpim8/s1600/FordBros.jpg

Could he REALLY have been a sports coach with a waist like that?

[Blockwork]

Hypothetically one could have a system where each of those members would be representatives of different areas. They would be decided through some sort of voting system, where the masses could choose who would speak on their behalf.
Personally I think I would call it democracy, hypothetically of course.

representative democracy doesnt work..
perhaps a participatory democracy..

perhaps teaching these politicians what democracy means might help..
or maybe just understanding that democracy isnt always the best choice for every scenario
or understanding that the economy has more power than the government and that it should be self-sustaining and run by the people..

life and liberty > anything else when it comes to government

[Agafaba]

representative democracy doesnt work..
perhaps a participatory democracy..

perhaps teaching these politicians what democracy means might help..
or maybe just understanding that democracy isnt always the best choice for every scenario
or understanding that the economy has more power than the government and that it should be self-sustaining and run by the people..

life and liberty > anything else when it comes to government

Participatory democracy is a joke in modern society, it might be a nice idea but it fails in execution.


Besides, I wonder just how "small" our government would really become if it was based on every individuals opinion.

[Metagame]

No, I prefer a government whose only function is to protect the liberties of the citizenry (police) and against international threats (military).

And I don't like the idea of democracy at all, as it is a flawed system wherein certain segments of society can decide to usurp the rights of others based solely on numbers. The U.S had it right with a republic, although it isn't that anymore...

"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch." ~ Benjamin Franklin.

[zz000ter]

Metagame - Democracy is based on the supposition that
a thousand idiots can make a better decision than one educated man.

It is not a perfect system.

Which system do you prefer over democracy?

BTW - isn't the US republic a democracy?
US democracy today being one of the biggest sham governments

[virgilaug]

In Canada, I think we have big government who have their hand in too many aspects of our lives. I believe in the free market and would prefer a smaller government. My biggest beef is that the government is so inefficient. I know several public empoyees who are so much more inefficient and less productive than my counterparts at work.

I believe certain things need to be governed but I think we can be more productive as a country if we decrease the size of our government.

So do you prefer a BIG government or a small one?

Productivity does not = happiness or good quality of life. Americans would be kings if that were true.

[sandikosh]

Hypothetically one could have a system where each of those members would be representatives of different areas. They would be decided through some sort of voting system, where the masses could choose who would speak on their behalf.
Personally I think I would call it democracy, hypothetically of course.

By the time it reaches to the top, everybody would change their mind and start all over again.

[Blockwork]

No, I prefer a government whose only function is to protect the liberties of the citizenry (police) and against international threats (military).

And I don't like the idea of democracy at all, as it is a flawed system wherein certain segments of society can decide to usurp the rights of others based solely on numbers. The U.S had it right with a republic, although it isn't that anymore...

"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch." ~ Benjamin Franklin.


1. yea, i was gonna mention something about having a republic in my post.. but a republic and a democracy are two different categories of governance.. the US was a democratic republic..
2. thats not a benjamin franklin quote.. ;)
http://www.icanhasinternets.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Internet-Quotes.jpg



Metagame - Democracy is based on the supposition that
a thousand idiots can make a better decision than one educated man.

It is not a perfect system.

Which system do you prefer over democracy?

BTW - isn't the US republic a democracy?
US democracy today being one of the biggest sham governments

3. democracy today is the notion that one man can represent the wants and needs of thousands or even millions which is IMPOSSIBLE however you try to look at it.
democracy is based on numbers, but it means nothing. if only 60% of canadians find it worthy to vote for one of the 5 garbage potential prime ministers (since, yes, we get choice.. but its between trash or trash).. and only 55% of that vote for one party thats a very small portion of the country, plus it doesnt necessarily mean theyre voting for that person, they could be voting against the other person..

democracy does not always work, and the implementation of democracy we have here in canada and the US is just a scam to make us feel like our opinions matters when in the end, the elite will follow whatever agenda they have planned, doing a little here and there to keep us satisfied and keep us from questioning the system..

[king_george]

The option I would vote for is missing. The gov't should only be as big as it needs to be to run the day to day affairs of the country. That could be big or small or somewhere in between.

As for democracy, it isn't perfect but it's the best form of gov't devised so far. I'd rather live in a democracy than a theocracy or any country run by a personality (Like a lot of Arab countries).

Blockwork you seem to be under the impression that people vote for our PM. We don't, we only vote for the local candidate and that decides which party runs the country. The party leader can be anyone, he or she doesn't even have to be elected to anything. Also our first past the post election system prevents anyone from having a majorty of the popular vote. IIRC the last person who had the majority of the popular vote here in Ontario was Premier Mitch Hepburn in the 1930s.

So any complaints about not getting the majority or even a good chunk of the popular votes in Canada is a red herring. The system we have here usually does not allow that.

[Agafaba]

3. democracy today is the notion that one man can represent the wants and needs of thousands or even millions which is IMPOSSIBLE however you try to look at it.
democracy is based on numbers, but it means nothing. if only 60% of canadians find it worthy to vote for one of the 5 garbage potential prime ministers (since, yes, we get choice.. but its between trash or trash).. and only 55% of that vote for one party thats a very small portion of the country, plus it doesnt necessarily mean theyre voting for that person, they could be voting against the other person..

democracy does not always work, and the implementation of democracy we have here in canada and the US is just a scam to make us feel like our opinions matters when in the end, the elite will follow whatever agenda they have planned, doing a little here and there to keep us satisfied and keep us from questioning the system..

The solution to voter apathy isnt to make them vote more frequently over much less important matters.

[mysticalinfluence]

Metagame - Democracy is based on the supposition that
a thousand idiots can make a better decision than one educated man.

It is not a perfect system.

Which system do you prefer over democracy?


He prefers bigotry and racism.

[Syne]

Which system do you prefer over democracy?


I'm also curious.

Metagame seems to want a dictatorship but with no benevolent governing force. Isn't that pretty much the definition of fascism?

[Metagame]

I'm also curious.

Metagame seems to want a dictatorship but with no benevolent governing force. Isn't that pretty much the definition of fascism?

Lol, how does a small government whose only function is protection of liberties of the citizenry and protection against other countries equal fascism?

Ideally, a free and open society would be governed with democratic elements, but it won't be a "democracy". In a true democracy (which is almost always socialist/communist/fascist, like in Europe), people's inalienable rights can be taken away on the sheer principle of "majority rules". Is that what you consider more "free" than a constitutional republic, Syne?

[spol]

I'll take my chances with freedom!

[BananaHunter]

It's not so much about size as it is about functionality. Canada is a large country and thus will naturally need a few more politicians to represent people. Both large and small governments can waste money and do stupid things. Larger governments are more likely to get stuck in bureaucracy. They will need more interdepartmental debates before something can be done. For this reason, I give smaller governments the nod. But size is not the most relevant factor in good governance.

What I want from a government is efficiency and also to tackle problems using common sense approach. And we also need a government that plans ahead, even if it means doing something unpopular. Pension is a prime example. Every political party knows it is a problem, but few have the balls to actually tackle the problem. Sure, you'll probably piss off all the golden seniors, but that's probably better than screwing all future generations. It's the lesser of 2 evils.

I think compared to other countries, Canada's government is fairly good. In some countries, people exist to serve the government. In Canada, the government provides many services to its citizens so overall, I think it's doing a good job. I think most people take for granted that Canada has a relatively strong and relatively non-corrupt government. But like anything, there's certainly room for improvement.

[NorthYorker]

To me it sounds a bit like "do you favour Newton's Laws". You see, complex system are unmanageable without complex control systems, and the modern society is very complex. The trick is to keep size of control system in check.