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Democracy Is Flawed: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
{{quote|''"Many forms of Government have been tried and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time."''
|Sir [[Winston Churchill]]. }}
Some writers don't believe [[Democracy Is Bad]] per se. They see it as the best system we've got. That said they don't think it is perfect, and they've written something to get this viewpoint across.
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For now, [[Real Life]] examples are permitted, as this is a politically motivated trope and they are helpful. Try to keep it to famous opinions on the matter rather than analysis of the actual systems. Failure to be civil will result in the [[Real Life]] section being nuked. Real Life examples are a privilege, not a right.
{{examples}}
== Anime and Manga ==
* ''[[Legend of Galactic Heroes]]'' spends a lot of time showing that democracy at is best is nowhere near as good as the best that can be done with an iron fist, but it also is unlikely to sink quite as low. The Free Planets Alliance is corrupt to the core, but people still can basically talk about it without being sent to GULAG. The Empire is becoming a great place to live, but this follows a period of despotism. ▼
▲* [[Legend of Galactic Heroes]] spends a lot of time showing that democracy at is best is nowhere near as good as the best that can be done with an iron fist, but it also is unlikely to sink quite as low. The Free Planets Alliance is corrupt to the core, but people still can basically talk about it without being sent to GULAG. The Empire is becoming a great place to live, but this follows a period of despotism.
== [[Comic Books]] ==
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== [[Live Action TV]] ==
* Luka Kovac expresses a belief similar to this to John Carter in the first episode of [[Author Tract|the "Doctors Without Borders" arc]] of ''[[ER]]''.
* ''[[Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)|Battlestar Galactica]]'': It's not clear if this was an intentional Aesop, but a great many of
* ''[[Yes Minister]]'' played with this one, as neither idealistic front-bench rookie Jim Hacker nor his much more experienced and rather jaded Permanent Under-Secretary [[The Humphrey|Sir Humphrey]] were ever consistently in the wrong.
== [[Literature]] ==
* This was a key theme of the late Allen Drury's ''Advise and Consent'' series (written between the late 1950's and the mid-1970's). He sought to show, sometimes [[Anvilicious]]ly, that [[Author Tract|American democracy, as inefficient as it often is, is infinitely preferable to the "efficient" tyranny of Communist regimes.]]
* ''[[Discworld]]'': Lord Vetinari mentions a town voting to make itself democratic, immediately voting to no longer pay taxes. Given the general [[Humans Are the Real Monsters]] ''and'' [[Humans Are Morons|Morons]] tendencies on the Disc, the only viable forms of government are kingdoms or tyrants.
** Commander Vimes mused once that his ancestor, "Old Stoneface" Vimes, gave the people of Ankh-Morpork democracy, and they voted against it because it took more work than they were willing to give.
* In [[Robert A. Heinlein]]'s ''[[Glory Road (novel)|Glory Road]]'', a doctor of sociology of a highly advanced civilization mentions to the hero (who is from present day Earth) that Democracy is, "a good system for beginners", while stating that advanced civilizations have far better ways of government.
* [[H. Beam Piper]]'s ''Space Viking'' shows the planet Marduk reigned over, not ruled, by a constitutional monarchy, basically a figurehead for a democratic government. Until [[Adolf Hitler]]-[[Expy]] Zaspar Makann<ref>The main character suspects Makann has actually gotten his hands on a history of Hitler's rise, because the techniques match so closely.</ref> is able to get elected.
== [[Theatre]] ==
* And, as always, [[Zeroth Law of Trope Examples|Shakespeare did it ages ago]] in his famous
{{quote|For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
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{{quote|"Whenever you have an efficient government [[No Delays for the Wicked|you have a dictatorship]]." }}
* Trope-originating quote:
{{quote|"Many forms of Government have been tried and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time."
|[[Winston Churchill]] }}
* A common joke when someone is moving slowly is to say he's moving at the speed of government.
* In [[World War II|Fascist Italy]], Mussolini is said to have made the trains run on time. He didn't, but the belief reflects this trope.
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