Sleepwalking into a new reality
Saving democratcy without a plan
Everybody wants to save democracy; nobody bothers to define it. You can find dozens of books on Amazon with the words ‘save’ and ‘democracy’ in their title. You will have to forgive me for not reading them. Still, it is quite amazing to see so many defenders of democracy, considering that democracy is the source of most of our problems.
Those problems start with the definition. Not even the dictionary can provide an acceptable one. Direct democracy is fundamentally different from representative democracy and both are infinitely undefinable. I have written several posts explaining the details of the problem, you can find the links at the end of this post.
The question is not what democracy is, but what it means to the people talking about it.
The idea is manifest in the writings of democracy’s saviors, as in this quote from
“The click-to-cancel rule is an illustration of an obvious and long-overdue protection, but it is only one of many ways—$35 insulin, new bridges, loan forgiveness, higher wages, good jobs—in which policies designed to benefit ordinary people have demonstrated that a democratic government can improve lives.” [emphasis mine]
Please note, that I didn’t have to go far for this quote. I am writing this on the 18th, quoting her post from the same day.
In this perception, democracy is governments doing good things to and for the people. In other words, democracy is Democrats doing good. Everything the democrats want is – by definition – democratic. Any opposition to them is – by definition – anti-democratic. Fascism, right wing populism, you name it.
American democracy in the 21st century can be best defined as:
Democrat-cy
Western democracies have morphed into a predictable, perverse mix of socialism and special interest controlled by globalized fascism with a hint of libertine licentiousness and immorality.
Quite contrary to democrat narratives, it is THEM, not republicans and conservatives who are dangerously intolerant and authoritarian.
Democracy is not a good thing. Let me give you a few quotes to illustrate:
"Dictatorship naturally arises out of democracy, and the most aggravated form of tyranny and slavery out of the most extreme liberty." (Plato)
“Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for dinner. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote.” (Benjamin Franklin [attributed])
“The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
(Margaret Thatcher) (source)
The framers of the American Constitution were very clear on defining the United States as a constitutional republic, NOT as a democracy. But this post is NOT about democracy, it is about its consequences.
As you can see, the US is definitely running out of other people’s money:
(source)
No sane person can argue that this level of debt and its trajectory is sustainable.
Especially not if the dollar loses its reserve currency status.
Especially not if the US also cuts itself off from the rest of the world with tariffs and sanctions.
Commentators fear that whatever the result of the elections will be, it will result in a civil war. The US is seriously divided, but so is Europe. The cultural/political divide seems to be irreparable. The visions are irreconcilable. And yet again, there is no plan ‘B’, no discussions about the impending collision with reality.
The assumption
There is the left, there is the right and then there is reality.
The beliefs, policies and actions of both the left and the right are resting on the assumption that there is nothing fundamentally wrong with their understanding of reality.
The left believes that they are on the right track towards an egalitarian utopia.
The right believes that with a little course correction, we can fix the problems; that we can return to the ideals of the founders of the republic and/or the enlightenment.
Realities
The reality confronting us has two faces: political/ideological and economic/pragmatic.
The political reality is an unresolvable conflict of visions.
The left will never learn from history, it will never understand the self-destructive nature of democracy and it will never accept the fact that everything has a cost and consequences. That there is no such a thing as a free lunch.
The right will keep losing as long as they keep confronting socialist ideology with their pragmatism.
The right will keep losing as long as they refuse to embrace libertarianism as the ideological and moral foundation of their political pragmatism.
The left is pushing us towards a globalized dystopia (“you will own nothing and you will be happy”); while the right is desperately trying to hang onto the West’s global hegemonic status.
The slow death of the mainstream media and the rise of the alternatives makes finding reasonable compromises increasingly difficult. The battle lines are becoming more entrenched, the differences more defined and both sides see them more existential.
Then there are the economic/pragmatic realities.
The seriousness of the debt clock is indisputable.
Demographic realities are indisputable. Neither lawlessness nor authoritarianism can solve them.
The effects of globalized trade are indisputable, yet there is no serious discussion about their implications.
No questions, no plan B
The questions
What will happen to the unfunded liabilities?
The debt?
The deindustrialization of Europe?
An aging population? Who will take care of the old and the sick?
How shall we pay for it with a shrinking work force?
How shall we take care of a shrinking (and aging) population in a world that is designed for permanent growth?
The framers of the American Constitution were very clear on defining the United States as a constitutional republic, NOT as a democracy. But this post is NOT about democracy, it is about its consequences.
No sane person can argue that this level of debt and its trajectory is sustainable.
Especially not if the dollar loses its reserve currency status.
Especially not if the US also cuts itself off from the rest of the world with tariffs and sanctions.
Commentators fear that whatever the result of the elections will be, it will result in a civil war. The US is seriously divided, but so is Europe. The cultural/political divide seems to be irreparable. The visions are irreconcilable. And yet again, there is no plan ‘B’, no discussions about the impending collision with reality.
The assumption
There is the left, there is the right and then there is reality.
The beliefs, policies and actions of both the left and the right are resting on the assumption that there is nothing fundamentally wrong with their understanding of reality.
The left believes that they are on the right track towards an egalitarian utopia.
The right believes that with a little course correction, we can fix the problems; that we can return to the ideals of the founders of the republic and/or the enlightenment.
Realities
The reality confronting us has two faces: political/ideological and economic/pragmatic.
The political reality is an unresolvable conflict of visions.
The left will never learn from history, it will never understand the self-destructive nature of democracy and it will never accept the fact that everything has a cost and consequences. That there is no such a thing as a free lunch.
The right will keep losing as long as they keep confronting socialist ideology with their pragmatism.
The right will keep losing as long as they refuse to embrace libertarianism as the ideological and moral foundation of their political pragmatism.
The left is pushing us towards a globalized dystopia (“you will own nothing and you will be happy”); while the right is desperately trying to hang onto the West’s global hegemonic status.
The slow death of the mainstream media and the rise of the alternatives makes finding reasonable compromises increasingly difficult. The battle lines are becoming more entrenched, the differences more defined and both sides see them more existential.
Then there are the economic/pragmatic realities.
The seriousness of the debt clock is indisputable.
Demographic realities are indisputable. Neither lawlessness nor authoritarianism can solve them.
The effects of globalized trade are indisputable, yet there is no serious discussion about their implications.
No questions, no plan B
The questions
What will happen to the unfunded liabilities?
The debt?
The deindustrialization of Europe?
An aging population? Who will take care of the old and the sick?
How shall we pay for it with a shrinking work force?
How shall we take care of a shrinking (and aging) population in a world that is designed for permanent growth?
Importing population from still fecund regions cannot possibly solve the problem while creating a whole new set. What kind of societies shall we have without ANY cultural, ethnic, civilizational cohesion?
How shall we work on it? What will the new culture look like?
What will happen to pensions in a world of hyperinflation?
We are already living far beyond our means and the idiots of the left, like
, as evidenced by the quote above, cannot have enough wasteful, irresponsible spending. And they call it democracy...Partisan divide and systemic corruption completely destroyed the credibility of science, the media and politicians.
What’s the plan to restore the respect for science, the media and authority in general?
Do not stop where I finish this post. There are hundreds more questions. I’m sure you can come up with a few yourself.
We are spending our time on irrelevant questions as we are sleepwalking toward a cliff of economic and civilization collapse.
It’s time to wake up.
In my next post, I will look at the biggest disruptor of all: technology
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References
The Work of Saving Democracy Must Go On After Trump | The New Yorker
Rep. Schiff Introduces Landmark Bill to Strengthen and Protect Our Democracy (house.gov)
Notes
Just an interesting tidbit. As I was reviewing the post before publishing, I checked for synonyms of the word ‘egalitarian’. The top choice is ‘democratic’
Brainwashing starts with the manipulation of language.