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I totally agree with Lampada. The best definition of what's a decent society, is in how it treats the weekest members of that society.
The elderly, the sick, the disabled, the pregnant, the new mothers/single mothers, minority groups etc.
What killed my childhood belief in socialism, was seeing on TV, in the 90s, how retarded and handicapped people were treated in some socialist countries.
Obviously, the same thing kills anyone's faith in capitalism - since the treatment is directly related to how much money the handicapped person's family is able and willing to spend on his care.
Democracy is an abstract, subjective and much abused concept.
The proof is in the pudding as we say in England. It's not how you vote -- it's whether you can sleep safely at night, knowing you will have somewhere to live, heat, water, food, an education, healthcare as needed and that you can walk safely without fear of being attacked, and be safe in your home. Also that you can sleep soundly, knowing that you will not be visited in the middle of the night by some state security agent because you said the wrong thing to the wrong person - and that there is a unbiased process to follow, should you be accused of a crime.
Another threat to democracy is media. The owners of mass media channels has the power to affect what the majority thinks.
If all media is privately owned and controlled, it's an enemy of democracy, since it will consciously or unconsciously support the objective of its wealthy owners, with the means to distribute and promote itself and win over any grassroots publication by regular citizens.
If all media is tightly controlled by the state, there is a risk that criticism is stifled and nobody watches the leaders on behalf of the people.
Some kind of blend, or state subsidies to citizen driven media is needed - or as in our age; access to free and uncensored internet.
On SWISS democracy, in response to Alex' question:
They have a system called "Direct Democracy" Direct democracy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
As a result, the country is set up like people want it, and people have their say about practical matters, like "Should there be a road here?", "Who should be allowed to immigrate to our country?", "Are companies allowed to do xyz?" If enough people support it, they will have a referendum about anything. Too much lobbying about a certain position is not allowed - people are supposed to make up their minds based on facts and their personal feeling, not some ad campaign.Direct democracy (also known as pure democracy)[1] is a form of democracy in which people decide (e.g. vote on, form consensus on, etc.) policy initiatives directly, as opposed to a representative democracy in which people vote for representatives who then decide policy initiatives.[2] Depending on the particular system in use, it might entail passing executive decisions, the use of sortition, making laws, directly electing or dismissing officials and conducting trials. Two leading forms of direct democracy are participatory democracy and deliberative democracy.
The job of the government is just to mildly steer things, and implement the results of the people's votes.
They also have a lot of LOCAL democracy, in that people can control what's going to happen in their immediate surroundings, such as what types of schools should be available and how much spending they think public transport needs.
And isn't it interesting that this most democratic country is also the richest in Europe, despite having NO coast, no oil or significant natural resources, and also being split into 3 different language groups, yet never having quarrels about it. They also never participate in wars, instigate them, and manage to keep at peace with everyone.
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