Delvieron@aol.com wrote:
> On Political Systems:
>
> I think in the end any political system is more or less viable, but the key
> feature is not the structure of the government but the character and ability
> of the people who comprise the government, and to whatever extent a political
> system utilizes good people, to that extent will that system prosper.
>
It is sort of an inverse relationship. A government which provides the most successful environment for its citizens breeds the potential for greater decadence unless there are measures to keep up the quality of the citizens, like making citizenship a merit system. You must pass intelligence, knowledge, and ethical tests to become a voting member of the polity. Jerry Pournelle had such a system on the planet Sparta in his CoDominium series of novels
-- TANSTAAFL!!! Michael Lorrey, President Lorrey Systems ------------------------------------------------------------ mailto:mike@lorrey.com ------------------------------------------------------------ "A society which trades freedom for some measure of security shall wind up with neither." -----Benjamin Franklin "The tree of Liberty should be watered from time to time with the blood of tyrants and patriots." -----Thomas Jefferson "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a Free State, the Right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." -----US Constitution, 2nd Amendment "You can have my gun when you pry it out of my cold, dead hands..." -----Anonymous "Once we got their guns away from them, taking their money was REAL easy." -----Unknown North Korean Commissar