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[-] yemmly@lemmy.world 27 points 2 years ago

In any governing system, something has to be supreme. Something has to be the final word in settling disputes. There are basically three options: Fiat, convention, or consensus. Consensus is really only practical in small groups, so we can put that option to the side. What remains is the choice between rule by the whims of a person or group, and the rule of law.

Despite their many flaws, the founders of the American republic were at least smart enough to realize that there would be a constant temptation to set aside the rule of law and let a person dictate things. So the foundational law (the constitution) was made sacrosanct in the way that the king had been. To lose the rule of law is to lose the republic, and return to tyranny.

Consensus is really only practical in small groups

Not at all, that's the whole point of a republic, it's consensus based.

[-] yemmly@lemmy.world 30 points 2 years ago

I suppose I should have said “unanimity” rather than “consensus”. But I already wrote it down, so now it can never be amended.

[-] CosmicCleric@lemmy.world 4 points 2 years ago

The irony that you can edit your comment does not go unnoticed.

[-] ristoril_zip@lemmy.zip 2 points 2 years ago

Top comment of the week

this post was submitted on 12 Oct 2023
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Microblog Memes

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A place to share screenshots of Microblog posts, whether from Mastodon, tumblr, ~~Twitter~~ X, KBin, Threads or elsewhere.

Created as an evolution of White People Twitter and other tweet-capture subreddits.

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