Mitigating Dystopia

Depending on the definition of dystopia, the type of government that is the least dystopian would be different. To mitigate that, the Cambridge dictionary definition that says “relating to a very bad or unfair society in which there is a lot of suffering” will be used.

In this way, I believe that a social democratic government is the least dystopian. Social democracy has a participatory democracy and uses a mixed economy. Having a participatory democracy means that both direct and representative democracy aspects are combined. Having a direct democracy allows for the individual voices of the people within the society to be heard. While direct democracy is ideal, it is not feasible for every decision with such a large population, so having a representative government is a good alternative. The representatives are still chosen by the people and the majority is favored. Making political decisions based on the people who make up the society decreases the unfairness and thus suffering of the people. Having a mixed economy means it incorporates both capitalism and economic interventionism. It allows for the freedom of the free market while also intervening when necessary, ideally to limit major corporations and in the best interest of the public such as to decrease unemployment, increase wages, and promote income equality. Social democracy believes that there are certain social rights that citizens are entitled to such as universal healthcare, education, and public transportation. This also works to mitigate unfairness within the society. It gives equal access to things like health and knowledge that citizens should have. It is said that it also advocates for the absence of discrimination, which limits the suffering of the citizens from being oppressed in those ways.

With every government, however, there is room for it to be abused. The people within the government can be corrupt and thus the way the government is supposed to run is not being carried out. Rather actions are being taken in the best interest of those in power rather than the people of the society.

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