mrstickball said:
Not every liberal democracy actually affords it's citizens the ability to revolt if needed. What would Europeans revolt against a tyrannical government with? Rubber band guns and foul language? |
1) How would a liberal democracy even get a tyrannical Government? Afterall, the people have to elect the Government. In most European countries, there is a Parliamentary Government, and so the Government would need to also get the approval of Parliament.
Of course, if a tyrant was able to get through all that, he'd still have to try and change the constitution to give him more power, which is a very hard thing to do if you're ideas go against the grain. The UK doesn't have a codified constitution (to say it's "unwritten" is inaccurate), so it would be easier here - but, again, any bills would need royal assent to be put in place (although this hasn't been rejected in hundreds of years, the Monarch still has the power to do so).... and even if all this came into place, the Government has no way to enforce it - the Government doesn't have it's own police force - they're all local, and the armed forces belong to the Monarch.
2) Ever heard of Ghandi? The (fall of the) Kapp Putsch? In a real liberal democracy passive resistance can be just as effective as violent resistance. If the people aren't willing to cooperate, a Government has no power.
