The Partisan Divide on Issues

[pbrower2a]

(03-02-2021, 11:00 AM)Einzige Wrote: It's amusing that you draw a hard and fast distinction between "democratic" and "autocratic" cultures. Iran has competing political parties, lmfao.

Mostafa Hessami
, M.A. Islamic Theology and Philosophy & Islamic Mysticism, Qom University (2019)
Answered February 19, 2018


Iran is not democratic because democracy is a myth (apart from the question of whether tyranny of the mindless majority, even if possible, is better than a wise popular leadership). For people are always led, guided, conditioned, manipulated, or brainwashed by non-elected powers be it a Communist party, a Fascist party, corporate media, the royals, the king, or yes a religious leader. “Liberal democracies” are no exception to that. For an empirical corroboration look at the concentration of media in US: Only 6 FOR-PROFIT corporations determine what Americans know about the world according to most recent stats. Yeah, this is probably the most pernicious way of controlling and taming “democracies” towards the interests of the non-elected ruling corporate class without people realizing they are duped. You control the people’s opinions and you control the people’s behaviors!



As for Iran, though, the Constitution and the leaders are explicit about the fact that Iran is a guided democracy, guided by a religious scholar who himself is guided by the principles of Islam and has to possess exceptional ethical and practical qualifications such as piety, selflessness, modesty, benevolence, leadership capabilities, knowledge of world affairs etc.

My comment:

The mullahs control what parties can get on the ballot, and they effectively narrow the political life to a small range of political debate with at most subtle differences. The mullahs can veto anything and get away with it, which is how the Romanov court did things in Russia just before the 1917  revolutions. Such was not generally recognized as democracy... and it still isn't. 


 

Obviously the cabinet is unelected in all countries. So there is an elected President with little real power, and a debating-club parliament that can achieve nothing without the consent of the Mullahs.  

...I recognize that we Americans have less than an ideal democracy. The corporate bosses play a game of cat-and-mouse, allowing us to get an occasional taste of government of the People, by the People, and for the People -- only to find suitable, pliant stooges like Ron Jonson, Tom Cotton, and Kristi Noem who get huge amounts of campaign cash and support from shadowy front groups to do the dirty work of smearing the opponent while the candidate is supposedly above that. Then we end up with government of the People, by the People, and for the People (really wealth and bureaucratic power).