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[lojban] Re: "democracy" vs "representative republic" in lojban?
On 5/15/06, Ryan Gray <ryanpatgray@yahoo.com> wrote:
Hi, I hope someone in this forum can help me use
lojban to clarify a point. In another forum, there is
a debate about the difference between "democracy" and
"representative republic." One faction seems to
believe that any form of government that elects its
leaders is a "democracy. Another faction (the one I am
partial to) argues that, by definition, a democracy
does not have any protections for individual rights
and the "will of the people" rules the day regardless
of whose rights are trampled upon. The argument in
this faction is that in a democracy a majority of
cannibals could vote to eat a minority of vegetarians.
No ones rights would be protected. How would one make
this distinction in lojban?
Thank you,
Ryan
Ryan,
The debate they are having is a debate about the meaning of an English
word-- it is a debate about the English language instead of a debate
about democracy. No other language can help you.
In Lojban you could create two very specific words for these two
separate meanings, and begin to use them. But that would not settle
the confusion they experience with the English word "democracy",
because they are English speakers and would continue to mean different
things by it.
The word means what people are thinking when they say it and hear it,
so it has many varieties of nuance in its various meanings. The origin
does not change that fact about words, so not even ancient Greek can
help.
The only way Lojban can help is if you go back to the list and declare
that from now on you will not use the word "democracy" since you do
not wish to be misunderstood. For pure democracy (that is to say, in
which every issue is voted on by everyone and majority rules), you
will henceforth say {roltrusi'o} and you ask that they understand it
as such. When you use the word {rolka'itrusi'o} you ask to be
understood to mean representative democracy.
-epkat
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