Cars And Votes

'Democracy' is one of those words
that should have a warning in front of it,
an impediment equivalent to the red flag
that slowed down the earliest cars.
Cars and votes both suggest a sense
of individuality/autonomy that needs
to be more qualified then it usually is.
Whether a large car or a block vote,
both put the brakes on transparency
and co-equality in representation.

Small countries adapt democratic ideas best.
Their size makes them homogeneous
and diverse enough that the polity can cohere
around 'the community' which is usually singular.
Social mobility works best when the extremes
of wealth, poverty and status, are limited.

The larger the country, the more community
becomes communities, detached.from each other,
the more wealth numbs it's holders and puts the greed
into agreed, at the expense of all connection.