Bernice:

> did you know that the aboriginal people of australia weren't given the vote until 1975

I knew this. In the two Congos the pigmy people are kept as slaves in the homes of wealthier landowners and they are not allowed to vote.

Democracy is a work in progress. In ancient Greece only the wealthy male aristocracy was allowed to vote. They excluded 90% of the population from voting. Then England created parliament and allowed MPs to be elected. Again, 90% of the population was excluded from voting until the French revolution forced the aristocracy to give up some of its power. In the Americas the United States and other independent countries gave people the right to vote and slowly over the next 200 years there a process of evolution. First, working men were allowed to vote, then men over 18. Then women and people of races other than Caucasian. 100 years ago most countries did not allow women to vote, thus excluding 50% of the population. It is a work in progress for sure.

Perhaps my view of democracy is rather dark, but the alternative is worse. Absolutist governments and dictatorships are definitely not the way to go.

I think the next step for democracies is participatory democracy where people can participate in everyday decisions. Technology should make this easier some day. The technology is already there, but it is still too expensive. Fingerprint and iris scanners are still too expensive. However, if fingerprint scanners become cheap, say $20-50 each, then every home could have one and a registered voter could vote from home. That could open the door to a new form of democracy where people can vote every day through their computers. A fingerprint scanner could make it impossible for somebody to vote twice.

Well, I doubt governments would like that. The ruling elite having to consult with the populace every day would make it very difficult for them to shove unpopular policies down everybody's throat. Imagine the budget being voted upon by the public. I doubt the wealthy contractors that make billions in the current system would like that.