Democracy and Prejudice in the WW (WAS: Why do 'purebloods' hate Muggles?)

[Ali <Ali@zymurgy.org>]

No: HPFGUIDX 50597


 Tom asks in response to Heidi's excellent breakdown of the British 
governmental system:-

>>> So, what you're suggesting is that Fudge is
 the apointed head of the party of lawmakers 
 that currently holds the majority in the wizard
 'parliament,' which ultimately would be an elected
 body that is answerable to the denizens of the WW?> 
 Follow-up question: does that mean that the 
 appointed head of the party would likewise be 
 responsible for appointing the officers of the 
 other departments (i.e. Arthur Weasley and so forth?)<<<

No, these would be "Civil Servants". These positions are effectively 
non-elected members of the Executive. Likewise, British judges are 
not elected they are appointed. 

>>> And one more: we haven't heard of any reference 
 at all to any kind of legislative body in connection 
 with the MoM. All we hear about is the immense 
 beaurocracy and deluge of offices and committees 
 that the MoM appears to be. Would this be standard 
 fare for the UK government? I mean, even here in the
 states we hear about the Parliament and so forth - 
 in fact (and only marginally OT) I just read a 
 bit this morning about Blair and the House of 
 Lords. But we haven't heard anything about any of 
 this in canon.>>>

I suppose that warrants 2 answers. No, we have heard nothing about a 
WW legislative. We know that Arthur Weasley has written laws, but we 
don't know who authorises them - my brother has written some English 
law, but he merely wrote it, it was spearheaded and ultimately agreed 
by Parliament. We do have a big Civil Service in Britain, and to me, 
the way the MoM appears to function is not unusual. The absence of a 
Legislative body would be.

> Heidi writes:
 "...given that in the UK, elections only need be held
 every five years, unless the party in power calls for an election at
 another time, and given that in the UK the election cycle is 
 incredibly brief compared to what we have in the US, it would 
 surprise me if we see more than one in canon. If that."
 
 And Tom responds:
 I'm still a little confused about the election
 process - wouldn't we have heard *something* about
 an election, any election, at some point in reference
 to the Fudge/Crouch Minister of Magic bit in GoF?

Why? The Potterverse is written from Harry's point of view. He has 
interaction with the MoM, but has probably got little interest in 
elections. We have a big problem in the UK at the moment with 
teenagers not being able to identify with our political system and 
having more interest in who wins "Big Brother" than who is running 
our country. Would Harry be that different? 
 
 
 Heidi points out:
 "In the UK, prefects and the Head Boy and/or Girl
 are generally chosen by the instructors and/or administration. While
 there are some schools that now have election of prefects, or other
 systems in place, the traditional setup allowed only for selection by
 those in authority."
 
 And Tom asks:
 Is this the case in private schools only, or also 
 in the public schools as well? I guess I betray my own
 position here, as a result of the U.S. public school
 system, but in my schools we worked firmly from a 
 position of student body elections. There was not even
 consideration of administration appointees to head the
 student class. We would have laughed at them. I figured
 that that's why no one seems to have any respect for the Prefects.>>>

I have only ever heard of prefects being choosen by teachers, 
although it is possible that this is changing. The method of choosing 
prefects differs from school to school. For instance, most schools 
would only choose prefects in the 7th year - unlike Hogwarts. But I 
have heard of schools appointing prefects from the 5th year upwards. 
Some schools with only a small 6th form (6th and 7th years) make 
everyone prefects.

Before you shrink from what sounds like a lack of democracy, perhaps 
it's better to explain what a prefect really is. A prefect is 
effectively an unpaid dogsbody carrying out some organising and team 
work so that teachers don't have to. It is good for students as it 
gives them an opportunity to practice leadership. From my experience 
it would be the popular students and those who have excelled in 
teamsports who would be choosen as prefects. This is simply because 
these would command the respect of their fellow pupils. For this 
reason, I would question Hermione's selection as a prefect, as I have 
not seen evidence to show that she would command the respect - and 
therefore the obedience of other students. Although, I feel sure that 
Hermione will be selected.

Ali