Re: CHAT: cultural interpretation [was Re: THEORY: language and the brain]

Quoting Joe <joe@...>:

> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Mark J. Reed" <markjreed@...>
> To: <CONLANG@...>
> Sent: Saturday, July 05, 2003 1:25 AM
> Subject: Re: CHAT: cultural interpretation [was Re: THEORY: language and the
> brain]
>
>
> > On Fri, Jul 04, 2003 at 11:18:48AM +0100, michael poxon wrote:
> > > Sorry, but this notion of the US being the acme of freedom is complete
> tosh.
> >
> > I didn't say "acme", I said "prototype".  First, not necessarily best.
> > And the US was, in fact, the first modern nation to have rule by the
> > people's representatives rather than by a monarch who either inherited the
> > job or was chosen by some other less inclusive means.
>
> Switzerland?
How democratic was the pre-1798 system? Some swift browsing suggests it left
effective power in the hand of aristocrats and merchant elites, with little
influence for peasants and poor city-dwellers.

                                                      Andreas

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