[ 18 June 2008: Message edited by: CMOT Dibbler ]

[Edited by Michelle to change the thread title so that it has something to do with the subject of the thread.]

[ 19 June 2008: Message edited by: Michelle ]

In those countries, citizens are not challenged to think about policies, or how the country might become better. It is not their business, it is the business of the Central Committee, the Great Leader, or the Interpreter of Gods Word.

While there are many theorists who have discussed the potential for growth by individuals who are permitted to think about questions of government, education, health care and the like, my personal favorite in Habermas. In wiki, his theory is described as follows:

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He carries forward the traditions of Kant and the Enlightenment and of democratic socialism through his emphasis on the potential for transforming the world and arriving at a more humane, just, and egalitarian society through the realization of the human potential for reason, in part through discourse ethics. While Habermas concedes that the Enlightenment is an "unfinished project," he argues it should be corrected and complemented, not discarded.

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Security and Prosperity

So do you really believe citizens have any say in those issues? We have had a succesion of governments that ignored the majority views of Canadians how is that a functioning democracy.

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There are many countries in which citizens are not allowed to know what is happening inside of the government. OF COURSE you cannot reach your full potential as a human being when you live in a dictatorship; the more totalitarian it is, the worse for its citizens.

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Sure, I'm quite happy in Canada. They piss me off but it would be tough to give up this internet thingy. Wait, doesn't Wayne MacPhail have an article on this site about that?

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