Re: [RC] FEI and the system of voting - Truman Prevatt
This is not a new issue. Take for example the ineffectiveness of the US
federal government under the Articles of Confederation that led the
Congress to summon the Convention of 1787. Originally intended to
revise the Articles of Confederation, it instead wrote a completely new
constitution. Virginia delegate James Madison called for a bicameral
Congress in his Virginia Plan: the lower house elected directly by the
people, and the upper house elected by the lower house. The smaller
states, however, saw this as power grab by the larger states to the
determent of the smaller states and proposed a unicameral Congress
with equal representation for all states. New Jersey countered
Madison's proposals with the New Jersey Plan. Eventually, a compromise
was reached: the House of Representatives was to provide representation
proportional by population, whereas the Senate would provide equal
representation by states with senators elected by the people.
The larger delegations always feel they should have a bigger say -
whether it makes any sense or not. One could make a very valid argument
that all nations should have equal say. Old Ben Franklin not being one
of few words made the comment after the new governmental structure
which the US has today was finalized. "Two lions and a sheep discussing
what to have for dinner is democracy. Two lions and a well armed sheep
discussing what to have for dinner is liberty."
That's the major problem. Nations like USA, France,
Germany have just one vote, same as Zimbabwe, Thailand, Peru... This
without any segregation or anything vs these emerging countries.
The relative power of each nations should be proportional to the number
of international riders it counts.
"Major equestrian federations including the USA, Sweden, Germany, New
Zealand, Australia and Ireland spoke passionately against the move at
the FEI's General Assembly in Copenhagen yesterday, but with many third
countries emerging in the sport with limited expertise in the
management of the soundness of top class competition horses, the
argument against was always going to be difficult to win."
-- “The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in
higher
esteem those who think alike than those who think differently
“The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct
him to
hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think
differently.”Friedrich Nietzsche
