Social Matter lists six fundamental flaws of democracy: 1. Long to non-existent feedback cycles for political actions 2. Incentives to destroy people’s belief-forming faculties, or what I call full-spectrum weaponization 3. Reduced incentives to do the right things to get status on both top and bottom 4. Inherent need for everyone to model other people’s… Continue reading Anti-democracy, part 5
Tag: anti-democracy
Even an inept king is better than a revolving door of good and bad politicians.
The Arabs figured out that the best way to deal with politics is to eliminate it altogether. But other countries–Brazil, France, Turkey, and America–still have their elections and referendums, along with the usual fanfare that goes along with it. America at least got it half-right and does not have referendums–and the Electoral College, which in… Continue reading Even an inept king is better than a revolving door of good and bad politicians.
The Trump Disillusionment?
The legacy of Trump presidency may be one the greatest examples of voter ignorance or dissonance–by many pundits the ‘right’ who originally supported Trump but later realized he wasn’t who they thought he was…whoops. With Bush (1st and 2nd), it was obvious what you were getting (a big govt. conservative who supports interventionism, lax borders,… Continue reading The Trump Disillusionment?
The Necessity of Power
There seems to be lingering belief held by some, including even a the Flight 93 Election essay, that perhaps democracy can be salvaged if only the ‘right people are put in charge’, or that Trump’s win is a major setback for the left. Bloody Shovel writes: Trump won! And he did so in a democratic… Continue reading The Necessity of Power
Anti-Democracy Sentiment Going Mainstream
This article is going viral right now on Hacker News: In Praise of Passivity, by Michael Huemer of the University of Colorado. Political actors, including voters, activists, and leaders, are often ignorant of basic facts relevant to policy choices. Even experts have little understanding of the working of society and little ability to predict future… Continue reading Anti-Democracy Sentiment Going Mainstream
The Facade of Democracy
And for some good news, maybe we’re closer to the ‘dark enlightenment’ than commonly believed, with democracy being mostly a facade. From Taki: Aborting the Working Class Martin Gilens is a political-science professor at Princeton. Over the course of the past decade, he has authored and coauthored several books and papers in which he argues… Continue reading The Facade of Democracy
The Daily View: Prescriptivism , Populism, and Why Democracy Doesn’t Work
In earlier posts I explore the possibility millennials are smarter and less impressionable than earlier generations. Some on the left argue millennials are sloppy at grammar and are careless, but there is an abundance of evidence to the contrary. For example on Reddit this user got rebuked in the comments for his ‘descriptive’ approach to… Continue reading The Daily View: Prescriptivism , Populism, and Why Democracy Doesn’t Work
Voters and Skin in the Game
Soul and skin in the game So voters are irrational, voting based on emotion than ‘good’ policy. This is not new, Bryan Caplan having written extensively about this. But the difference is Caplan uses this as an argument against democracy, whereas Taleb sees it as a strength or feature due to ‘skin in the game’.… Continue reading Voters and Skin in the Game
Millennials Losing Faith in Democracy
This is great news for the ‘alt right’ cause: Are Americans losing faith in democracy? Most millennials don’t think it’s essential to live in a democracy: If you wonder why I write to much about Reddit and Millennials – this is why. There is a huge demographic here of people who are potentially repetitive to… Continue reading Millennials Losing Faith in Democracy
Classical Liberalism, Democracy, Libtertarianism, Nihilism, and NRx
From Peter A. Taylor The Resurrection of Classical Liberalism Here’s what I think happened. The US began as an expression of classical liberalism. The founders were steeped in John Locke’s ideas about natural rights, as modified and popularized by writers like James Otis, Thomas Paine, and Thomas Jefferson. What actually made it into the American… Continue reading Classical Liberalism, Democracy, Libtertarianism, Nihilism, and NRx