Post by Tomas on Mar 28, 2022 14:51:30 GMT
From a conservative angle, does referendums make part of an ideal revival of social conservatism?
Opinion polls may direct many a political campaign. However impractical or practical, referendums is another matter entirely. Big time issues can be either squandered into more or less rigged election choices, or simply ignored by not making any opening for referendum at all. For this phenomena I take it the Switzerland model have a conservative touch - compared to the other kind of democracy we know, that is.
Perhaps the thread should be in the section Politics and current affairs, but I posted here because main interest is to hear the relation to conservatism as an outlook in itself.
In a recent article this can be qouted as of its use in Sweden:
"Since 1922 and the first referendum, on prohibition of alcohol, Sweden has only had five national referendums. The most recent was on the question of EU membership in 1994. Note that, in Sweden, referendums are not binding, which means that politicians, regardless of the result, can decide how they want to handle the political issue that led to a referendum.
Two of the referendums held in Sweden – the pension vote in 1957 and the nuclear power vote in 1980 – were given three instead of two alternatives, to ensure a desired election outcome. No such thing has happened in any other Western European country during the post-war period. Researchers have been very critical. These manipulations have appeared to be a disrespectful Swedish speciality."
The whole article, suggesting the term Sweden Syndrome for the whole type of Leftist conformist type of government, linked here: morklaggning.wordpress.com/2022/03/27/sunday-column-the-sweden-syndrome/?fbclid=IwAR3iBWK_nhRdyyyjjLGk_FviT04BXme-fV15OfYfMuyLkXm0vkFxCnZzpC4
As an aside Swedish current politics has also been aptly critised, by a jurist conservative Moderate party ex-member of parliament, in these fitting terms, mentioned in the same article: "The former conservative Member of Parliament Anne-Marie Pålsson published the book The Button Pushing Company (In Swedish: Knapptryckarkompaniet) a decade ago. There, she accuses primarily her own party of top-down government, but also notes that members of parliament of all parties have been reduced to voting fodder for their respective party leaders. They have become “button pushers”."
Any thoughts on pros and cons on referendum from the view of conservatism welcome. My own view is that I am not convinced it would work out well in practise. I rather prefer some kind of mediaval pre-protestant society, with small kingdoms and - in best, Christian styles - free villagers within. Since we only have utopias to think about, I´m tending to be pessimist even in wish think, so any other building of ideal could very well be added to that kind impossible dream.
Opinion polls may direct many a political campaign. However impractical or practical, referendums is another matter entirely. Big time issues can be either squandered into more or less rigged election choices, or simply ignored by not making any opening for referendum at all. For this phenomena I take it the Switzerland model have a conservative touch - compared to the other kind of democracy we know, that is.
Perhaps the thread should be in the section Politics and current affairs, but I posted here because main interest is to hear the relation to conservatism as an outlook in itself.
In a recent article this can be qouted as of its use in Sweden:
"Since 1922 and the first referendum, on prohibition of alcohol, Sweden has only had five national referendums. The most recent was on the question of EU membership in 1994. Note that, in Sweden, referendums are not binding, which means that politicians, regardless of the result, can decide how they want to handle the political issue that led to a referendum.
Two of the referendums held in Sweden – the pension vote in 1957 and the nuclear power vote in 1980 – were given three instead of two alternatives, to ensure a desired election outcome. No such thing has happened in any other Western European country during the post-war period. Researchers have been very critical. These manipulations have appeared to be a disrespectful Swedish speciality."
The whole article, suggesting the term Sweden Syndrome for the whole type of Leftist conformist type of government, linked here: morklaggning.wordpress.com/2022/03/27/sunday-column-the-sweden-syndrome/?fbclid=IwAR3iBWK_nhRdyyyjjLGk_FviT04BXme-fV15OfYfMuyLkXm0vkFxCnZzpC4
As an aside Swedish current politics has also been aptly critised, by a jurist conservative Moderate party ex-member of parliament, in these fitting terms, mentioned in the same article: "The former conservative Member of Parliament Anne-Marie Pålsson published the book The Button Pushing Company (In Swedish: Knapptryckarkompaniet) a decade ago. There, she accuses primarily her own party of top-down government, but also notes that members of parliament of all parties have been reduced to voting fodder for their respective party leaders. They have become “button pushers”."
Any thoughts on pros and cons on referendum from the view of conservatism welcome. My own view is that I am not convinced it would work out well in practise. I rather prefer some kind of mediaval pre-protestant society, with small kingdoms and - in best, Christian styles - free villagers within. Since we only have utopias to think about, I´m tending to be pessimist even in wish think, so any other building of ideal could very well be added to that kind impossible dream.
