Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site watmath.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!jmsellens From: jmsellens@watmath.UUCP (John M Sellens) Newsgroups: can.politics Subject: Re: Referendums Message-ID: <9275@watmath.UUCP> Date: Thu, 4-Oct-84 07:01:22 EDT Article-I.D.: watmath.9275 Posted: Thu Oct 4 07:01:22 1984 Date-Received: Thu, 4-Oct-84 10:29:27 EDT References: <804@ubc-ean.CDN> Organization: U of Waterloo, Ontario Lines: 21 J.B. Robinson suggests that Mulroney is afraid to let the people govern themselves and that this is a bad thing. Sure, letting the people decide is in accord with the basic principles of democracy, but ignores one important fact: people are stupid. Matters of low importance, such as which party is in "power" (but the country is really run by the bureaucrats) are safe things to leave in the hands of voters. But when public opinion can be easily manipulated by the media, important issues can't be treated fairly and rationally by the public. Some would say that statistics will cancel the good votes and the bad votes, and the real answer will be the average, but I think that's too simple in many cases. Would you trust your future to someone who reads the National Star?? :-) John There - that should stir things up a little :-)