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Comment by omgomgomgomg | Hacker News Reader

The neutrality always was based on cowardice amd completelly fake.

They probably did not give away their military gear because the price or conditions they have envisioned were not right.

Make no mistake, Switzerland is right up there in the top 5 as far corrupt government and institutions go, they just have the better suits, camouflage and clandestinity.

Sure, life is good in Switzerland for most, the system is one of the best as far median income and level of wealth goes, but that did not fall from the sky.

This country had to ration food until not too recently, and before that, Russia had to save them from Napoleon.

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They have a system of referendums that should remind everyone of why Plato and Aristotle of the dangers of the tyranny of the majority. An especially awful example has been Switzerland's treatment of women. In 1958 the men voted on the idea of giving women the vote, and they voted against it. Another referendum was held in 1971, at which point women finally got the vote. Of the Western nations that were nominally democratic, Switzerland was the last to give women the vote.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_suffrage_in_Switzerl...

As of 1971 women could vote in federal elections. They could also vote in about half the cantons' elections (the Swiss version of states).

About half because 1971 started with 36% of cantons, it rose to 52% of with the same election that made women able to vote nationwide, it was 60% of cantons when the first vote with women was held. It wasn't until 1990 that women could vote in every canton.

Sorry to be that guy, but cantons and states are very different.

Cantons have vastly more autonomy than any us state, on any matter. The US system does not even come close. I am not sure which one has more pros/cons, though.

How are the cantons that much different from the states? Legally, the Swiss federal government has authority over the armed forces, currency, the postal service, telecommunications, immigration into and emigration from the country, granting asylum, conducting foreign relations with sovereign states, civil and criminal law, weights and measures, and customs duties. In 1990, when the last cantons approved women to vote, it was because of the federal government enforcing it on them over their objections.

That reads pretty much verbatim like the enumerated powers in the US Constitution. And the idea of the federal government forcing states/cantons to abide by "letting people vote" is a common thread as well.

The major difference I see is that cantons (unlike states) can enter into agreements with each other or foreign countries without federal approval.

But I never lived in Switzerland! I'm probably missing something?

It a grotesque way, the mob rule issue can be defended these days by the argument that the opposing parties will always water down referendum decisions. It is ironic, but good.

Why was this downvoted? Everything I wrote is factually accurate, and I linked to my source.

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