Democracy

At the GNU Public Dictatorship we are nothing if not helpful, which is why we have decided to respond to a very common question we receive, even though the answer is apparent to anyone who has taken GPD 101 at the GNU Public University (also here).  (Let us not forget to mention that courses at the GNU Public University are available free of charge).

The question, in essence, is why the GPD isn't the GNU Public Democracy instead of the GNU Public Dictatorship.  To answer the question, let's define a few terms:

Democracy - A government where every citizen has an equal voice in deciding what the government will do.
Republic - A government where citizens choose representatives that then decide what the government will do.
Oligarchy - A government where a few citizens or classes of citizens decide what the government will do.
Monarchy - A government where an individual decides what the government will do.


Some like to believe that the best form of government is a democracy, where the people have the power.  Unfortunately, this requires a lot of the citizens.  They must stay informed about current events and must dedicate a large percentage of their time to keeping the government running smoothly.  When citizens fail to stay informed or fail to spend the time necessary on keeping things running smoothly, there are problems.  Perhaps citizen A doesn't like citizen B, so instead of researching the issues, he or she simply votes against what citizen B votes for.  Suppose citizen C is more interested in Leonardo DiCaprio's latest performance than whether the roads in a neighborhood need to be repaired and chooses to vote against the repairs just so that he or she can get home sooner to enjoy an evening with Mr. DiCaprio.  As you can see, a democracy simply demands too much of individual citizens, and if they fail to deliver what is demanded, the system breaks down.

A republic solves some of the problems facing a democracy, by creating a class of people whose job it is to stay informed and to care, and ostensibly to represent the citizens who chose them as representatives.  Unfortunately, this system only works when these representatives are properly engaged by their constituents, and, for reasons similar to those mentioned about democracies, this rarely happens.  Republics also demand that representatives be altruistic, which is difficult for many people.  Self-interest tends to overcome altruism, and the desire to maintain one's status as a representative forces individuals to present misinformation to their constituents to protect their own interests.  Rather than listening to their constituents and representing their interests against corporations and other entities that are better-funded, they tend to listen to the better-funded entities and represent their interest against those of their constituents.

Such a state of affairs is more properly termed an oligarchy, since there is a class of people (politicians and well-connected individuals) who tend to make the decisions and then tell the people what they should want.  As long as this ruling class provides enough Leonardo DiCaprio movies, most citizens rarely object.

The GNU Public Dictatorship does not adopt any of these models as we find them fraught with errors.  We also do not support a monarchy or a traditional dictatorship, since one person rarely has enough knowledge and information to make proper decisions.  Instead, we create a dictatorship where exceptional individuals meet together, discuss society's problems, and find solutions.  If the people don't believe their leaders are exceptional individuals, they will voice their opinions and the other members of the Board of Dictators will be obliged to sever ties with the non-exceptional individuals.  By consolidating decision-making power into the hands of the Board, the GPD allows for quick responses to difficult problems.  By following the open source model, we ensure that citizens' interests are represented without corporate interference.  It's really a wonderful model!