Yes, it is a very philosophical issue and I've never considered myself to be a Plato, Aristotle or John Stuart Mill, philosophers who sought to discover the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence.
I'm probably more of a doer than a philosopher.
But if the majority is not always right, surely we must also accept that the minority we elect to the seats of power in Parliament is not always right, either.
Should we give the people more say as a check and balance over Parliament?
Unfortunately, Plato would be unlikely to agree with that. As he suggested in The Republic, ruling is a kind of science or craft, and he concluded that only those trained in this craft should be permitted to govern.
Well, I suspect if Plato had been around long enough to see the mess many governments around the world have created, he may very well have changed his mind on that one.
On the other hand, his student Aristotle, in his discussion of "polity", suggested a fusion of oligarchy and democracy was the best way to go.
Unfortunately, even the word "democracy" means different things to different people.
To some, it is simply voting once every few years at an election.
I suspect what a politician once said to me is somewhat true -- there are two extremes to most issues and the answer is usually somewhere in the middle.
Some considerable time after Aristotle, John Stuart Mill -- in his book On Liberty -- posed the classic argument for individual freedom and an open society.
For Mill, this meant human happiness and the "greatest good" as the only way for individuals in a free society to make decisions about their lives.
I suspect politicians are not going anywhere soon, and it is likely we will always have governments of some shape or form -- but how much power do we wish to give them? Having one vote every three years is not an adequate check and balance in my mind.
I suspect what a politician once said to me is somewhat true -- there are two extremes to most issues and the answer is usually somewhere in the middle.
I am yet to see a better political system than the hybrid political system that Switzerland operates under.
It may not be perfect -- nothing is -- but I have little faith in political parties and political leadership.
I've seen most of them fairly close up, I have a degree in political science and I've written books about politics and democracy, but I'm still not a believer in our current system like some party zealots are.
While the majority may not always be right, neither is our elected dictatorship. For those who are unlikely to be around to cast your vote at the next election -- I don't think you will be missing much.
Politics is so passe. Best-selling humorist PJ O'Rourke made me laugh when he named his book Don't Vote -- It Just Encourages the Bastards.
By all means vote, but please send a special message this election that you want them to move on from this dinosaur age of politics. The system must change.
Go the Mickey Mouse Party!
Steve Baron is a Whanganui political commentator, author and founder of Better Democracy NZ. He has degrees in economics and political science.
