Democracy works, the problem is we don’t have a true democracy. We have corporate capitalist democracy. It’s a system that makes most people think it’s democracy — but it’s not.
Democracy and capitalism can not exist in the same stratosphere if democracy is to succeed.
The conditions under which democracy works are well understood.
You need a populace educated on how the society and government works at least in its broad strokes. That education should also instill a preference for democracy and describe the pitfalls of other systems.
An independent media system to keep the voter base reasonably informed.
Systems in place to prevent corruption.
Every single one of these have been eroded over 1-2 generations by crony capitalism to enable wealth accumulation.
I would not say that democracy in the US is a reasonable example of what democracy can look like. It is what happens when democracy is being deliberately sabotaged.
You’re missing the most crucial element of all, the class that makes up the majority of society should be the ones running and controlling the state and the commanding heights of the economy. If you have a small ruling class, as it exists in every single capitalist country, this class will bend whatever democratic institutions exist on paper to suit their whims. Any “independent media” will be flooded with media dominated by them. Education will be twisted to value capitalism. It isn’t that “crony capitalism” eroded democracy, it’s that bourgeois democracy has never and can never represent the working class.
For democracy to even exist, the workers must run and own the state and the commanding heights of the economy at a minimum.
You also need a fully open and transparent government, any information being classified top secret or anything of the sort means you cannot have a democracy. No secrets can be allowed, ever. And really the only way to reasonably guarantee stuff like that is to make officials surrender all privacy related rights for life, just permanent publicly open insight into every aspect of your life, past, present, and future if you want to pursue office. I’d argue for attaching 24/7 live streamed cameras to them during their time in office as well. Obviously this would only currently work for rich countries with obscene military expenditures, like the US, but if the big guys were to do it then it would eventually be safe enough for the rest of them.
This seems extreme. I agree with more transparency of politicians, but I don’t see our current problems as stemming directly from the fact that our military has top secret information and an intelligence service.
I mean small bits of democracy exist everywhere. Charity groups often work as a democracy. The youth organization I was in as a kid operated as a great democracy.
There are little democratic groups all over the world working just fine. It’s the large scale corporate hellscape that keeps it from working for us as a whole.
But just saying out of hand “democracy works” is not a fact, it is an unproven assertion. Some charity groups work, most do not. Many charity groups like the largest vegan group DXE have SA charges among the leadership. Youth organizations collapse all the time. If democracy works then how come democratic countries elect authoritarians and fascists like the Republicans in US or Nazi’s or even AFD in Germany? How come democratic countries elect people like Boris Johnson, Marie Le Pen, Bolsonaro, and Sanae Takaichi? Citation needed is just that, I’d like to know where these democratic nations and organizations that exist that actually work. Doesn’t seem like it works to me. Sounds nice in theory but I wouldn’t say it “works” and clearly if we just assume out of hand that it does, we’ll just keep repeating the mistakes that make it not work.
Idealist philosophy is the worst thing that has ever happened to humanity. Just totally decouple your goals from actual reality, and make zero plans on how to get there, then critique movements that fail to measure up to your pie in the sky. You see, actually achieving things is secondary to these people, what REALLY MATTERS is looking like a good person when you’re doing it. “They don’t want power, they just want to endlessly critique power.”
The ruling class has put in place a system that is impossible to change without doing horrible, violent, and socially unacceptable things, that is why it’s so stable.
I really wished we lived in this world where convincing people of your ideas was enough to bring systemic change, it just won’t for some things.
Democracy works, the problem is we don’t have a true democracy. We have corporate capitalist democracy. It’s a system that makes most people think it’s democracy — but it’s not.
Democracy and capitalism can not exist in the same stratosphere if democracy is to succeed.
The conditions under which democracy works are well understood.
You need a populace educated on how the society and government works at least in its broad strokes. That education should also instill a preference for democracy and describe the pitfalls of other systems.
An independent media system to keep the voter base reasonably informed.
Systems in place to prevent corruption.
Every single one of these have been eroded over 1-2 generations by crony capitalism to enable wealth accumulation.
I would not say that democracy in the US is a reasonable example of what democracy can look like. It is what happens when democracy is being deliberately sabotaged.
You’re missing the most crucial element of all, the class that makes up the majority of society should be the ones running and controlling the state and the commanding heights of the economy. If you have a small ruling class, as it exists in every single capitalist country, this class will bend whatever democratic institutions exist on paper to suit their whims. Any “independent media” will be flooded with media dominated by them. Education will be twisted to value capitalism. It isn’t that “crony capitalism” eroded democracy, it’s that bourgeois democracy has never and can never represent the working class.
For democracy to even exist, the workers must run and own the state and the commanding heights of the economy at a minimum.
You also need a fully open and transparent government, any information being classified top secret or anything of the sort means you cannot have a democracy. No secrets can be allowed, ever. And really the only way to reasonably guarantee stuff like that is to make officials surrender all privacy related rights for life, just permanent publicly open insight into every aspect of your life, past, present, and future if you want to pursue office. I’d argue for attaching 24/7 live streamed cameras to them during their time in office as well. Obviously this would only currently work for rich countries with obscene military expenditures, like the US, but if the big guys were to do it then it would eventually be safe enough for the rest of them.
This seems extreme. I agree with more transparency of politicians, but I don’t see our current problems as stemming directly from the fact that our military has top secret information and an intelligence service.
Citation needed
There has never been a democracy, so we don’t know if it works or not. Democracy is an ideal state. We all live under a dictatorship of capital.
I mean small bits of democracy exist everywhere. Charity groups often work as a democracy. The youth organization I was in as a kid operated as a great democracy.
There are little democratic groups all over the world working just fine. It’s the large scale corporate hellscape that keeps it from working for us as a whole.
But just saying out of hand “democracy works” is not a fact, it is an unproven assertion. Some charity groups work, most do not. Many charity groups like the largest vegan group DXE have SA charges among the leadership. Youth organizations collapse all the time. If democracy works then how come democratic countries elect authoritarians and fascists like the Republicans in US or Nazi’s or even AFD in Germany? How come democratic countries elect people like Boris Johnson, Marie Le Pen, Bolsonaro, and Sanae Takaichi? Citation needed is just that, I’d like to know where these democratic nations and organizations that exist that actually work. Doesn’t seem like it works to me. Sounds nice in theory but I wouldn’t say it “works” and clearly if we just assume out of hand that it does, we’ll just keep repeating the mistakes that make it not work.
So what’s your suggestion buddy? Do nothing?
A dictatorship of the proletariat. Try reading a book, “buddy”
That’s not what I asked bud
Idealist philosophy is the worst thing that has ever happened to humanity. Just totally decouple your goals from actual reality, and make zero plans on how to get there, then critique movements that fail to measure up to your pie in the sky. You see, actually achieving things is secondary to these people, what REALLY MATTERS is looking like a good person when you’re doing it. “They don’t want power, they just want to endlessly critique power.”
The ruling class has put in place a system that is impossible to change without doing horrible, violent, and socially unacceptable things, that is why it’s so stable.
I really wished we lived in this world where convincing people of your ideas was enough to bring systemic change, it just won’t for some things.
Amerikkkan politician in the gif, lmao.
…Judge Judy? She’s not a politician. She’s barely political at all. She hasn’t even been a real judge since 1996.
Sorry I don’t watch slop I couldn’t know about that. I’m sure she’s very close to the real thing.