Comment on .ml has got to be the only place on earth where I'd get downvoted for a comment like this
Warl0k3@lemmy.world 2 days agoNo idea what they’re trying to say, but… PDS is an opinion poll. The way you present it implies that it speaks in any way to the actual systems of government of the country in question, when that’s just straight not what it’s about:
[…] At the same time, more respondents said their country was moving in the wrong direction. The report finds that pessimism is especially pronounced in democracies. France, Germany, Lebanon, Puerto Rico and Nigeria were among the countries where responses on national direction were most negative. China recorded the most positive responses, followed by El Salvador, Kuwait, Algeria and Belarus.
What your image actually shows is that Chinese citizens are the most satisfied with their government, which is for sure something, but is decidedly not the same thing as
China is one of the more comprehensively democratic countries on the list, with some of the fewest glaring weaknesses.
Cowbee@lemmy.ml 2 days ago
Yes, of course it’s a survey of how people feel about their systems. Most western “democracy indexes” just define democracy loosely around whatever the Nordics are doing, and as such countries with very different democratic systems like China score very low. This shows that that’s not really accurate, the people of China like the system and believe it delivers well for what it does.
Warl0k3@lemmy.world 2 days 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@lemmy.ml 2 days 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 2 days 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.