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Article: The myth of perfect democracy; Lexington: Perfect democracy.(United States)(Florida election results, 2000)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- December 9, 2000
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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IDEALISM is hardly the first word that springs to mind when you examine the Democrats' behaviour in Florida. But even as they have competed with the Republicans to unleash sleazy lawyers and sleazier rabble-rousers on a state more accustomed to welcoming pensioners and holidaymakers, they have clung to the higher ground on one point: that they merely wanted "the will of the people" to prevail. Somewhere among the swamps and the alligators lay hidden the true result, which it was their duty to unveil.
This conviction may be sincere. But does it make any practical sense? What might be described as the myth of perfect democracy underlies not just a good deal of the ...