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Re:Stop the proposal on mass surveillance of the EU by dingusdew on Thursday February 02, 2023 @11:43AM (#34629098)
Unpopular opinion: If you don't like democracy and use your democratic rights to actively work to dismantle it, you probably shouldn't actually be allowed to participate in democracy since you are operating in bad faith.
Re:Stop the proposal on mass surveillance of the EU by pessimizer on Thursday February 02, 2023 @12:39PM (#34630179)
That's not unpopular, it's a typical authoritarian opinion. Every censor out there is defending us from threats to our democracy. They would love the idea of setting up the Agency for the Good Faith Belief in Democracy and Democratic Rights, who would certify individuals as being qualified to vote.

https://allthatsinteresting.com/voting-literacy-test

Re:Stop the proposal on mass surveillance of the EU by midoridensha on Thursday February 02, 2023 @11:51PM (#34637283)
This sounds like the Paradox of Tolerance.
Re:Stop the proposal on mass surveillance of the EU by lizzardbraind on Thursday February 02, 2023 @12:14PM (#34629738)
If you let them vote, they'll vote to destroy their society.

If you don't let them vote, they'll act to destroy their society.

It would be emotionally satisfying, but ultimately destructive. It would also be ripe for abuse; imagine how awful it would be if we had secret lists of people who weren't allowed to do other normal activities, like air travel or vehicle registration.

Re:Stop the proposal on mass surveillance of the EU by O__________O on Thursday February 02, 2023 @11:59AM (#34629443)
While I don’t agree, I do believe it’s a common perspective and one that’s important to have dialogue on.

While for sure an imperfect response, I would say that no democracy will ever be absolutely perfect, since it would require a consensus on everything and everyone understanding the topic equally prior to voicing their opinion. Further, authoritarian beliefs are only true threat to a democracy if majority support authoritarian rule, at which point I would argue it’s not a democracy.

That said, with the advancements of AI, it increasingly dangerous, since if given the tools and opportunity, an authoritarian minority might over take an unprepared majority.

Re:Stop the proposal on mass surveillance of the EU by rwmj on Thursday February 02, 2023 @01:29PM (#34630992)
A few constitutions explicitly defend democracy, so you cannot modify the constitution to remove the democratic system. Germany is the most famous example (because, you know, Hitler).

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entrenched_clause#Germany

Re:Stop the proposal on mass surveillance of the EU by int_19h on Thursday February 02, 2023 @10:20PM (#34636730)
But then, of course, you need some kind of enforcement. And once you set that up, it turns out that it is subject to the same problems as other law enforcement / intelligence agencies:

"In 2001, the federal government, the Bundestag, and the Bundesrat jointly attempted to have the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany ban the NPD. The court, the highest court in Germany, has the exclusive power to ban parties if they are found to be "anti-constitutional" through the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany. However, the petition was rejected in 2003 after it was discovered that a number of the NPD's inner circle, including as many as 30 of its top 200 leaders were undercover agents or informants of the German secret services, like the federal Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz. They include a former deputy chairman of the party and author of an anti-Semitic tract that formed a central part of the government's case. Since the secret services were unwilling to fully disclose their agents' identities and activities, the court found it impossible to decide which moves by the party were based on genuine party decisions and which were controlled by the secret services in an attempt to further the ban. The court determined that so many of the party's actions were influenced by the government that the resulting "lack of clarity" made it impossible to defend a ban. "The presence of the state at the leadership level makes influence on its aims and activities unavoidable," it concluded."

Re:Stop the proposal on mass surveillance of the EU by O__________O on Thursday February 02, 2023 @11:11PM (#34637054)
NPD being being a German far-right political party:

https://wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Democratic_Party_of_Germ...

Re:Stop the proposal on mass surveillance of the EU by micadep on Thursday February 02, 2023 @02:15PM (#34631656)
Reminds me of Popper’s idea that a democracy shouldn’t give it’s tools to those who seek to destroy it.

“If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them.” Karl Popper

Re:Stop the proposal on mass surveillance of the EU by anthonypasq on Thursday February 02, 2023 @03:33PM (#34632567)
seems like you dont like democracy lol. If the members of a democratic country dont want a democracy anymore, that seems within their rights.
Re:Stop the proposal on mass surveillance of the EU by red1reaper on Friday February 03, 2023 @07:41AM (#34640314)
That is a good opinion in principle, but rather complicated to implement in a way that would work as expected. Most implementations would at best add too much bias to the process which would make it counterproductive, at worst it would corrupted in no time and lead to an authoritarian government which would defetat its porpouse.