• Warl0k3@lemmy.world
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    4 hours ago

    Well, yes - this is an opinion poll, it’s not a measure based on real metrics of performance, it’s entirely based on perception.

    Which is my whole point: you stating that china is among the more comprehensively democratic countries on the list is a misuse of the infographic. You might hold that opinion, it might be true, but the image you’ve posted is completely disconnected with supporting that claim.

    • Cowbee [he/they]@lemmy.ml
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      4 hours ago

      How would you measure how comprehensively democratic a country is, if not by asking people how well it functions in getting across the will of the majority?

      • Warl0k3@lemmy.world
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        4 hours ago

        I suspect I would start by setting out to write a report that attempts to answer that question, instead of one like this, which makes it very clear that it’s not a document which answers that question.

        • Cowbee [he/they]@lemmy.ml
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          4 hours ago

          This pretty clearly answers how people feel about their systems, and considering democracy is will of the majority, it makes sense to begin with how people feel about their country in doing so.

          • Warl0k3@lemmy.world
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            3 hours ago

            That seems spurious, and I’d like to see some evidence supporting that there’s validity in that position before I entertained the idea that it’s a valid metric with which one could evaluate ‘democracy’.

            Perhaps you could even do a study on that subject?

            Regardless of you trying to shift the scope here, the study emphatically does not support the conclusion you attempted to use it to draw. You can ruminate on the philosophical cud that is opinion polling all you like, but that was not the object of the study, and it’s fundamentally dishonest to present it like it supports your claims.

                • Cowbee [he/they]@lemmy.ml
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                  3 hours ago

                  Kinda. Still, I pretty clearly believe that people’s perceptions are the most important for seeing how democratic a system is.

                  • Warl0k3@lemmy.world
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                    3 hours ago

                    In the more tedious parts of this internet this would be called a “red herring” argument.

                    Yes it’s an interesting idea, but it has little bearing on you having used a study with a clearly defined scope to support a claim that is outside of that scope.