On Wed, 05 Oct 2011 09:53:21 -0500, J R wrote:

You mentioned wiki wiki woo woo. (wikipedia) Looka here ilk, head on
over to the rec.autos.tech online newsgroup thangy, check out the
wikipedia thread.

Now you know why I have been calling it wiki wiki woo woo. cuhulin

Liberal democracy is a form of representative democracy where elected
representatives that hold the decision power are moderated by a
constitution that emphasizes protecting individual liberties and the
rights of minorities in society, such as freedom of speech and assembly,
freedom of religion, the right to private property and privacy, as well
as equality before the law and due process under the rule of law, and
many more.

Such constitutional rights, also named liberal rights, are guaranteed
through various controlled institutions and various statutory laws.
Additionally the constitution of most of the contemporary liberal
democracies protects the rights of individuals and minorities, and
prohibits the will of majority (majoritarianism), by almost eliminating
that rule in practice.

Some would argue that liberal democracy isn't democratic or liberal at
all. They would argue that "liberal democracy" does not respect majority
rule, except when citizens are asked to vote for their representatives,
and also that its "liberty" is restricted by the constitution or
precedent decided by previous generations. They would argue that, by
prohibiting citizens the right to cast votes on all issues—especially for
serious subjects like going to war, constitutional amendments or
constitution abolishment etc.—this turns "liberal democracy" into the
precursor of oligarchy.

Others would say that only a liberal democracy can guarantee the
individual liberties of its citizens and prevent the development into a
dictatorship. Unmoderated majority rule could—in this view—lead to an
oppression of minorities.-wisegeek