# How Can Social Democracy Exist Without Social Assimilation?
**URL:** https://www.ilovephilosophy.com/t/how-can-social-democracy-exist-without-social-assimilation/35868
**Category:** Society, Government, and Economics
**Created:** [February 27, 2013, 1:52pm UTC](https://www.ilovephilosophy.com/t/how-can-social-democracy-exist-without-social-assimilation/35868 "2013-02-27T13:52:41Z")
**Posts on this page:** 7
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Daktoria](https://www.ilovephilosophy.com/u/Daktoria)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2013, 1:52pm UTC](https://www.ilovephilosophy.com/t/how-can-social-democracy-exist-without-social-assimilation/35868/1 "2013-02-27T13:52:41Z")
Conventionally speaking, democracy is opposed because the populace is deemed idiotic. That is ordinary people aren’t familiar with what’s really going on, and they don’t have the style required to craft appropriate policy.
Perhaps democracy shouldn’t be opposed. What should be opposed is that democracy can only exist if citizens are familiar with culture. If citizens are immersed in heritage, then (and only then can) they understand what’s going on and how to deal with it without making fools of themselves.
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### Author:  [@James\_S\_Saint](https://www.ilovephilosophy.com/u/James_S_Saint)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2013, 2:06pm UTC](https://www.ilovephilosophy.com/t/how-can-social-democracy-exist-without-social-assimilation/35868/2 "2013-02-27T14:06:47Z")
It was originally proposed that democracy requires public education.
But the new paradigm requires public obfuscation.
Democracy cannot exist as long as a government approves of keeping the public confused.
Socialist Democracy is merely proposing that the elite members governing each of the socialist nations has a vote. The people can certainly vote, but have no effect whatsoever other than letting it be known in what manner they require for reprogramming.
And of course, even the elite votes get manipulated just as they always have been such as to render even the Socialist democracy into a empiric dictatorship.
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### Author:  [@Moreno](https://www.ilovephilosophy.com/u/Moreno)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2013, 4:03pm UTC](https://www.ilovephilosophy.com/t/how-can-social-democracy-exist-without-social-assimilation/35868/3 "2013-02-27T16:03:30Z")
> [@Daktoria](#):
>
> Conventionally speaking, democracy is opposed because the populace is deemed idiotic. That is ordinary people aren’t familiar with what’s really going on, and they don’t have the style required to craft appropriate policy.
>
> Perhaps democracy shouldn’t be opposed. What should be opposed is that democracy can only exist if citizens are familiar with culture. If citizens are immersed in heritage, then (and only then can) they understand what’s going on and how to deal with it without making fools of themselves.
Some minimal assimilation is necessary for people to effectively participate. But assimilation cuts a number of ways. If assimilation means taking on the beliefs and culture that, for example, the media and the politicians present as reality, then assimilation means a loss of potential for democracy.
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### Author:  [@Daktoria](https://www.ilovephilosophy.com/u/Daktoria)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2013, 4:09pm UTC](https://www.ilovephilosophy.com/t/how-can-social-democracy-exist-without-social-assimilation/35868/4 "2013-02-27T16:09:48Z")
> [@James S Saint](#):
>
> It was originally proposed that democracy requires public education.
> But the new paradigm requires public obfuscation.
> Democracy cannot exist as long as a government approves of keeping the public confused.
If you’re describing de facto democracy, I agree. De jure democracy merely depends on participation though. The elites can confuse the public on purpose.
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### Author:  [@Daktoria](https://www.ilovephilosophy.com/u/Daktoria)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2013, 4:10pm UTC](https://www.ilovephilosophy.com/t/how-can-social-democracy-exist-without-social-assimilation/35868/5 "2013-02-27T16:10:49Z")
> [@Moreno](#):
>
> > [@Daktoria](#):
> >
> > Conventionally speaking, democracy is opposed because the populace is deemed idiotic. That is ordinary people aren’t familiar with what’s really going on, and they don’t have the style required to craft appropriate policy.
> >
> > Perhaps democracy shouldn’t be opposed. What should be opposed is that democracy can only exist if citizens are familiar with culture. If citizens are immersed in heritage, then (and only then can) they understand what’s going on and how to deal with it without making fools of themselves.
>
> Some minimal assimilation is necessary for people to effectively participate. But assimilation cuts a number of ways. If assimilation means taking on the beliefs and culture that, for example, the media and the politicians present as reality, then assimilation means a loss of potential for democracy.
Right. Pop culture doesn’t help since it dumbs the electorate down.
By assimilation, I was referring to organic heritage instead.
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### Author:  [@Flannel\_Jesus](https://www.ilovephilosophy.com/u/Flannel_Jesus)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2013, 4:13pm UTC](https://www.ilovephilosophy.com/t/how-can-social-democracy-exist-without-social-assimilation/35868/6 "2013-02-27T16:13:17Z")
I looked up the term ‘organic heritage’.
The most relevant thing I found was this:
[rutlandorganics.co.uk/rutlan … rkeys.html](http://www.rutlandorganics.co.uk/rutland-heritage-turkeys.html)
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### Author:  [@Daktoria](https://www.ilovephilosophy.com/u/Daktoria)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2013, 4:20pm UTC](https://www.ilovephilosophy.com/t/how-can-social-democracy-exist-without-social-assimilation/35868/7 "2013-02-27T16:20:12Z")
> [@Flannel Jesus](#):
>
> I looked up the term ‘organic heritage’.
> The most relevant thing I found was this:
> [rutlandorganics.co.uk/rutlan … rkeys.html](http://www.rutlandorganics.co.uk/rutland-heritage-turkeys.html)
Thanksgiving ftw.