"Democracy" Turns Good People Into Arrogant, Lazy Authoritarians [Steemit Exclusive]
View this post on Hive: "Democracy" Turns Good People Into Arrogant, Lazy Authoritarians [Steemit Exclusive]
View this post on Hive: "Democracy" Turns Good People Into Arrogant, Lazy Authoritarians [Steemit Exclusive]
I don't vote out of a belief that I am helping you, I vote in the off chance that I might be helping me.
That said, I agree with your assessment. Democracy generally and Representative Democracy as practiced in the US is getting more battered and abused every year. There are no good guys, there are at best bad guys that might do the right thing, even if by accident.
And, I do not know a better system. I can think of multiple changes that would improve ours, but in truth, I don't know one better. More people taking your path would go a long ways to making things better 'for us all'. I deeply agree that fundamental change has to come from the bottom up and won't be an initiative measure to vote on.
Thanks for a marvelous post. I appreciate it.
Thank you! Your comment calls to mind the sentiment of Lysander Spooner, who argued that many people vote as an act of defense out of fear that if someone who disagrees with them votes and wins, they will inevitably be oppressed or harmed by the party that gains power. It's sad that the current system forces people to fear each other and have to fight back through a corrupt institution. Agree that change has to come from the bottom up! :)
This was such a great article, thanks for sharing. It wasn't that long ago that I realized that political crusading is both counterproductive and a waste of time. Not only because it's a tyranny of the majority, but also because the rulers would never allow a liberty political movement to succeed. Trying to change it from the inside won't work:
The majority’s moral power makes individuals internally ashamed to contradict it, which in effect silences them, and this silencing culminates in a cessation of thinking.
-Alexis de Tocqueville, "Democracy in America" 1831
Excellent article. I would venture to say that the people who don't realize that political power is, in fact, controlling how the inherent violence of the state is used are responsible for this defect. It takes all of five seconds to realize that all legislation is backed, ultimately, by the threat of deadly force. Certainly cognitive dissonance will prevent most do-gooder political crusaders from making that final leap, but it's right there. In black and white. If they're exposed to it and they refuse to acknowledge the horrifying consequences of that fact, then they are entirely blameworthy.
Of course I could be overly harsh in that assessment. Just my two cents. At any rate, I'm with you in seeking better systems and methods to avoid and obviate democracy. I hope my children get to live in that world.
This is fantasitc. Thank you for distilling so many of my thoughts into a clear and concise article. Perfect.
I agree. Democracy is often hailed as the ultimate government, but I think it's based on a false premise...well, a few actually. For one, people assume that people can choose the best representative for themselves, despite this being proven incorrect time and again. We also often don't seem to understand that our representatives should be doing what is best for the people, not necessarily what is most popular. Representative democracy is just picking the most popular, not the candidate that is the best for the people.
Stoked to have stumbled upon your Steemit.
Check out https://steemit.com/@a-0-0