Wednesday, December 03, 2008

The consent of the Governed

While the parliamentary system hinges on confidence of the house, it should be observed that civil society, particularly in what is supposed to be a democracy, is entirely dependent on the consent of the governed.

The current problem with the Westminster Parliamentary system is that it was predicated on having parties participating within the democracy who, while holding different views, were still concerned with the stability of the country in question. It never took into account the possibility of a group of individuals committed to the destruction of said nation sitting in the House of Commons, much less getting into a position to be directing social and economic policy.

The stability of civil society depends on a social compact wherein the citizens - those who willingly participate in this compact - elect individuals to represent their local interests within the national governing body. At the end of the day, no matter what any group of constitutional experts wants to say about precedents, it all hinges on the same individuals who cast their ballot to continue to consent to being governed.

That consent is very close to being withdrawn. I would suggest that her Excellency takes this into consideration during her deliberations.

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