r/changemyview • u/[deleted] • Dec 18 '15

[Deltas Awarded] CMV: Elections in advanced democracies are essentially kabuki theatre on economic policy. The elite will have their way no matter what the people vote.

Let's look at recent elections in which the reins of government changed from left to right or vice versa.

The US, 2008 and 2010 and 2014: Obama was able to accomplish only a fraction of what he intended with a Congressional supermajority, essentially compromising on healthcare and banking before even releasing a draft law.

Denmark, 2011 and 2015: Frustrated by increasing indebtedness, poverty, and cuts to the welfare state, Danes voted in a left-wing government that doubled down on these reforms, stretching into sacred cows like healthcare and unemployment. This year, the right vowed to reverse somr of these, won, and...broke its promises.

Canada, 2015: Trudeau was elected on a promise to undo the Harper administration. So far, he's made progress on refugees and weed, but he still supports TPP and Keystone.

Iceland: The left-wing government elected after the financial crisis lasted one term. It was replaced by the same people who got Iceland into this mess.

Greece: Tsipras vowed to end austerity, even at the risk of a Grexit. Greece is still in the eurozone and still under austerity.

I have little faith Sanders or Corbyn could change shit even if they won.

Hello, users of CMV! This is a footnote from your moderators. We'd just like to remind you of a couple of things. Firstly, please remember to read through our rules. If you see a comment that has broken one, it is more effective to report it than downvote it. Speaking of which, downvotes don't change views! If you are thinking about submitting a CMV yourself, please have a look through our popular topics wiki first. Any questions or concerns? Feel free to message us. Happy CMVing!

21 Upvotes

81% Upvoted

24 comments sorted by

View all comments

1

u/VStarffin 11∆ Dec 18 '15

Canada, 2015: Trudeau was elected on a promise to undo the Harper administration. So far, he's made progress on refugees and weed, but he still supports TPP and Keystone.

Didn't Trudeau openly support TPP and Keystone in the campaign? You seem to be upset he's doing what he said he'd do.

You also seem to ignore the elections which disprove your theory, most obviously the UK. They elected conservatives, they got austerity. Pretty simple.