It’s funny how rare this argument has become, a few years ago politicians used it all the time, as if it was some kind of free pass to genocide, war crimes and discrimination.
Just remember that “But it’s a democracy”, is not an argument for anything. USA is also a democracy, but that does not in any way justify their attacks on Iran either, or their blockade of Cuba, or all the dozens of other things they are doing that are against international law.
The US is manifestly not a democracy. When was the last time the working class, you know the group that makes up 90% of the population, actually held political power? No, all of the power is held by capitalists, who use it to enforce their system of authoritarian exploitation.
Nothing can justify genocide or murdering random people at sea. Ever. It doesn’t matter who is doing it. The breaking of international law needs to have consequences.
It seems like a lot of people today have a hard time to not justify atrocities.
It requires a broad definition of democracy to consider either of those democracies. The V-Dem Institute puts both in the second tier of “electoral democracy” behind the “true” democracies, termed “liberal democracy.”
From Wikipedia, the electoral democracies are those that:
Regimes that possess the bare minimum to be considered a democracy. They are “de-facto accountable to citizens through periodic elections”, but are not liberal democracies and lack further entrenched individual and minority rights beyond the electoral sphere. Basic electoral democracies may not possess a fully developed rule of law, legislative and judicial oversight of the executive branch, protections against the “tyranny of the majority”, and only minimal fulfillment of Robert Dahl’s institutional prerequisites for democracy.[13]
Both countries are also considered to be backsliding toward autocracy.
Yes, by a broad definition. They can be considered democracies because elections, while not free and fair, are not directly rigged, opposition parties are allowed to contest them, and the press is partially free. Contrast this to a country like China or Russia, where elections are a sham, opposition is banned or controlled, and the press is tightly controlled by the government.
I will say though that both V-Dem and the Economist are being somewhat generous. Considering recent events in Hungary, one could argue both countries should really rank lower than Hungary.
But it’s OK because Israel is a democracy. /s
It’s funny how rare this argument has become, a few years ago politicians used it all the time, as if it was some kind of free pass to genocide, war crimes and discrimination.
Just remember that “But it’s a democracy”, is not an argument for anything. USA is also a democracy, but that does not in any way justify their attacks on Iran either, or their blockade of Cuba, or all the dozens of other things they are doing that are against international law.
Is it though?
It’s a plutocracy disguised as a democracy
Kakistocracy but yeah.
Technokleptoplutokakistocracy
It’s a democracy where dollars are considered citizens and allowed to vote.
Where corporations are people and women are baby factories.
USA claims to be a democracy.
american here: it is not a democracy. also, FUCK ISRAEL
It’s a dysfunctional democracy. So it’s absolutely not a good democracy.
The US is manifestly not a democracy. When was the last time the working class, you know the group that makes up 90% of the population, actually held political power? No, all of the power is held by capitalists, who use it to enforce their system of authoritarian exploitation.
Nothing can justify genocide or murdering random people at sea. Ever. It doesn’t matter who is doing it. The breaking of international law needs to have consequences.
It seems like a lot of people today have a hard time to not justify atrocities.
It requires a broad definition of democracy to consider either of those democracies. The V-Dem Institute puts both in the second tier of “electoral democracy” behind the “true” democracies, termed “liberal democracy.”
From Wikipedia, the electoral democracies are those that:
Both countries are also considered to be backsliding toward autocracy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Economist_Democracy_Index
Israel and USA are both flawed democracies placed at 30 and 34.
But they are still democracies.
Yes, by a broad definition. They can be considered democracies because elections, while not free and fair, are not directly rigged, opposition parties are allowed to contest them, and the press is partially free. Contrast this to a country like China or Russia, where elections are a sham, opposition is banned or controlled, and the press is tightly controlled by the government.
I will say though that both V-Dem and the Economist are being somewhat generous. Considering recent events in Hungary, one could argue both countries should really rank lower than Hungary.
I agree, and in Hungary Victor Orban had a lot of control of the media. That’s a pretty big part of being a democracy, that the press (media) is free.
In the US, corporate media is largely aligned with the Trump regime and journalists that dare to ask an actual question are denied access.