Liberals are probably the strongest advocates of democracy. Democracy solves a problem described by an old adage: "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."
When power or wealth concentrates too heavily in too few hands in society, democracy is useful for dispersing much of that power back to the people.
In other words, when enough voters become discontented with the status quo, they vote to change it.
Of course, those already in power bitterly resent this; that is why there is such a strong anti-democratic streak in wealthy conservatives and business owners.
They complain that democracy allows the poor to legally steal from the rich. (Liberals counter that unregulated capitalism allows the rich to exploit and therefore steal from the poor, and taxes simply correct for that.)
But democracy also works in the other direction as well. If we lived in a society where everyone was paid equally, despite their different inputs, people would surely vote to create a system of incentives and rewards.
Democracy therefore strikes the balance between the corruption of absolute power and the lack of incentives, between unrestricted meritocracy and egalitarianism. It is the primary tool of moderated meritocracy.
Most liberals favor strengthening our democratic institutions; examples include mandatory voting, state or national referendums and initiatives, and expanded voter registration like the "Motor-Voter" law.
Some go so far as to advocate direct democracy, in which the people, not their representatives, vote directly on legislation.
However, an educated electorate is necessary for the success of any democracy, and there is a real question as to whether the public is educated or informed enough to vote directly on the nuts and bolts of government policies.
Steve passed away under suspicious circumstances but Rightardia views him as a modern day liberal philosopher.
Republicans like to refer to the US as a republic which is a very abstract term: China , Afghanistan and Iraq are all republics. The US , in fact, is an indirect democracy. We elect people to represent us at the local state and federal level.
You cannot miss the fact that Republicans try to suppress voting by changing voting law by requiring rigorous ID requirements or by changing other voting rules.
In Florida, you can vote and change your address on election day. The Florida legislature is changing the law so such voters who change their address will be given provisional ballots that can be thrown out.
Tea Party Nation president Judson Phillips thinks only people who own property should be able to vote.
This is actually the way it was when the nation was founded. Only about 10- to 16 per cent of the population was allowed to vote. Black males were not allowed to vote until after the Civil War and women were not give suffrage until the early 20th Century.
This is reminiscent of the fascist film, Starship Troopers. In the film only people who served in the armed forces had citizenship and could vote.
source: http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/ShortFAQ.htm#liberalism
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