{"id":5427,"date":"2018-07-10T01:10:35","date_gmt":"2018-07-10T05:10:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/?p=5427"},"modified":"2018-12-25T18:07:49","modified_gmt":"2018-12-25T23:07:49","slug":"fifth-meditation-on-democracy-written-monday-november-5-2007-republished","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/?p=5427","title":{"rendered":"Fifth Meditation on Democracy [written Monday, November 5, 2007] REPUBLISHED<\/span>"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"https<\/a>In the begin\u00adning years of this blog, I pub\u00adlished a series of arti\u00adcles called \u201cMed\u00adi\u00adta\u00adtions on Democ\u00adracy and Dic\u00adta\u00adtor\u00adship\u201d which are still reg\u00adu\u00adlarly read today, and have had some influ\u00adence. They still elic\u00adit inquiries from remote cor\u00adners of the globe. They are now buried in the back pages of the blog, so I\u2019m mov\u00ading them up the chrono\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal counter so they can have anoth\u00ader round of vis\u00adi\u00adbil\u00adity, espe\u00adcially (I hope) with younger read\u00aders. I am re-post\u00ading them in their orig\u00adi\u00adnal sequence over part of 2018. Some ref\u00ader\u00adences in these \u201cmed\u00adi\u00adta\u00adtions\u201d will date them to 2007\u20132008, when they were writ\u00adten. But I will leave them un-retouched, though I may occa\u00adsion\u00adally append some ret\u00adro\u00adspec\u00adtive notes. Most\u00adly, they deal with abstract issues that do not need updating.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

<\/p>\n

\"14-03-18<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s my con\u00adtention that both hier\u00adar\u00adchi\u00adcal and egal\u00adi\u00adtar\u00adi\u00adan behav\u00adiour are equal\u00adly \u201cnat\u00adur\u00adal\u201d to human beings. These two meth\u00adods of inter\u00adact\u00ading with oth\u00aders in a group have co-exist\u00aded in all human soci\u00adeties, from the ear\u00adli\u00adest stages of our evo\u00adlu\u00adtion as a species. It is also my con\u00adtention that, while there is a lim\u00adit\u00aded place for hier\u00adar\u00adchi\u00adcal think\u00ading and behav\u00adiour in a good soci\u00adety, it is egal\u00adi\u00adtar\u00adi\u00adan think\u00ading that has cre\u00adat\u00aded civ\u00adi\u00adliza\u00adtion and moral\u00adi\u00adty. Any soci\u00adety that is dom\u00adi\u00adnat\u00aded by hier\u00adar\u00adchy is essen\u00adtial\u00adly back\u00adward, self-destruc\u00adtive, and immoral.<\/span><\/p>\n

There are no nec\u00ades\u00adsary stages in his\u00adto\u00adry, and no pre\u00addes\u00adtined sequence of polit\u00adi\u00adcal struc\u00adtures, though a par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar poli\u00adty may evolve<\/em>, in the sense that it may become more just or bet\u00adter at rec\u00adog\u00adniz\u00ading and pro\u00adtect\u00ading the rights of its peo\u00adple. It may just as eas\u00adi\u00adly devolve<\/em> and become less just and more sav\u00adage. It is the con\u00adtin\u00adu\u00ading con\u00adcen\u00adtra\u00adtion of effort towards jus\u00adtice by a peo\u00adple that makes jus\u00adtice hap\u00adpen, not some neb\u00adu\u00adlous, abstract eco\u00adnom\u00adic or his\u00adtor\u00adi\u00adcal process. Moral\u00adly cor\u00adrect deci\u00adsions have to be made, and real action must be tak\u00aden, by real indi\u00advid\u00adual human beings. Just laws have to be made, agreed upon, and obeyed. An advanced \u2015 that is to say a just and moral \u2015 polit\u00adi\u00adcal struc\u00adture can be cre\u00adat\u00aded by any group of human beings, at any time, in any place, at any lev\u00adel of tech\u00adnol\u00ado\u00adgy or degree of pros\u00adper\u00adi\u00adty. The tech\u00adnol\u00ado\u00adgy of jus\u00adtice is intel\u00adlec\u00adtu\u00adal, not phys\u00adi\u00adcal. It has to be dis\u00adcov\u00adered, invoked, and imple\u00adment\u00aded, but it is not depen\u00addent on any par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar kind of phys\u00adi\u00adcal environment.<\/span><\/p>\n

This last state\u00adment needs some exem\u00adplary illus\u00adtra\u00adtion. The world\u2019s his\u00adto\u00adry has seen a great vari\u00adety of poli\u00adties, that is to say, groups of human beings orga\u00adnized into polit\u00adi\u00adcal units. Some have been rel\u00ada\u00adtive\u00adly advanced, mea\u00adsured by the stan\u00addard of respect for human rights and dig\u00adni\u00adty, oth\u00aders have been back\u00adward and bar\u00adbar\u00adic. But his\u00adtor\u00adi\u00adcal peri\u00adods, wealth, and tech\u00adno\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal gad\u00adgetry do not deter\u00admine which is advanced and which is back\u00adward. Ancient Yaud\u00adhiya and Athens were more polit\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly advanced than the large Mau\u00adryan and Alexan\u00addri\u00adan empires that suc\u00adceed\u00aded them. Ger\u00admany in 1940 was equipped with some of the world\u2019s most advanced tech\u00adnol\u00ado\u00adgy, and had inher\u00adit\u00aded a trea\u00adsure of art, sci\u00adence, lit\u00ader\u00ada\u00adture and accu\u00admu\u00adlat\u00aded knowl\u00adedge \u2015 yet, polit\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly and moral\u00adly, it ranked below the most prim\u00adi\u00adtive soci\u00adeties of head\u00adhunt\u00ading bar\u00adbar\u00adians. The same is true of all Com\u00admu\u00adnist states, which exist on a lev\u00adel of polit\u00adi\u00adcal sav\u00adagery, despite what\u00adev\u00ader atom\u00adic weapons, sky\u00adscrap\u00aders, or space craft they pro\u00adduce. The small\u00adest, hum\u00adblest democ\u00adra\u00adcy is immense\u00adly more sophis\u00adti\u00adcat\u00aded than any state ruled by a dic\u00adta\u00adtor. Lit\u00adtle, demo\u00adc\u00adra\u00adt\u00adic Ice\u00adland is more advanced in civ\u00adi\u00adliza\u00adtion than the Roman Empire ever was, or the France of Napoleon, or of Louis XIV<\/span>, or any of the empires of the world, no mat\u00adter how many pyra\u00admids and vic\u00adto\u00adry arch\u00ades they erect\u00aded. The mere fact that an empire is an empire, or a king\u00addom is a king\u00addom, makes it infe\u00adri\u00ador. A sin\u00adgle vil\u00adlage in Ver\u00admont in 1850, with its demo\u00adc\u00adra\u00adt\u00adic town meet\u00adings, was a thou\u00adsand times more polit\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly advanced than the present gov\u00adern\u00adment in Wash\u00ading\u00adton, ruled by a self-declared \u201cDecider\u201d, and man\u00adaged by a crew of bar\u00adbar\u00adian hench\u00admen, and attend\u00aded by a cas\u00adtrat\u00aded leg\u00adis\u00adla\u00adture of uncon\u00adtest\u00aded incum\u00adbents who can be bought, like low grade ground beef, by the pound. Those who want Amer\u00adi\u00adca to be an Empire are not seek\u00ading to empow\u00ader it, they are seek\u00ading to degrade it and destroy it. Those in Cana\u00adda who want us to act as ser\u00advants and cheer\u00adlead\u00aders for such an empire like\u00adwise seek to degrade and destroy Cana\u00adda. That is why I oppose them.<\/span><\/p>\n

Wealth is not civ\u00adi\u00adliza\u00adtion. Size is not civ\u00adi\u00adliza\u00adtion. Tech\u00adnol\u00ado\u00adgy is not civ\u00adi\u00adliza\u00adtion. Those are not what deter\u00admines whether a soci\u00adety is civ\u00adi\u00adlized. How\u00adev\u00ader, I am not mak\u00ading a case for any kind of Rousseau-an nos\u00adtal\u00adgia. The tech\u00adniques most use\u00adful to civ\u00adi\u00adliza\u00adtion have a long his\u00adto\u00adry, going back to our ear\u00adli\u00adest begin\u00adnings as a species, but they have only spo\u00adrad\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly been iden\u00adti\u00adfied, prac\u00adticed, and improved. We have much to learn from ancient, trib\u00adal, and pre-indus\u00adtri\u00adal soci\u00adeties that is use\u00adful and impor\u00adtant. But on the whole, soci\u00adeties in the past have been more vio\u00adlent, less just, and more dan\u00adger\u00adous than some of the best poli\u00adties that emerged in the last two cen\u00adturies. It\u2019s our duty to take advan\u00adtage of the cumu\u00adla\u00adtive expe\u00adri\u00adence of the human race, from all times and places, wher\u00adev\u00ader we have lessons to learn and expe\u00adri\u00adences to learn from. Every suc\u00adcess\u00adful inno\u00adva\u00adtion, no mat\u00adter who made it, should be incor\u00adpo\u00adrat\u00aded into our com\u00admon trea\u00adsure of wis\u00addom, and every mis\u00adtake should be acknowl\u00adedged, stud\u00adied, and remem\u00adbered as a cau\u00adtion. The great\u00adest weak\u00adness that pre-lit\u00ader\u00adate soci\u00adeties had was that they had dif\u00adfi\u00adcul\u00adty remem\u00adber\u00ading what they had done well, and con\u00adstant\u00adly repeat\u00aded the errors of the past. We don\u2019t have that excuse. If we don\u2019t learn from the hor\u00adrors of the Holo\u00adcaust, the Gulag, and the Lao\u00adgai, what excuse could we offer?<\/span><\/p>\n

For exam\u00adple, we have the glar\u00ading exam\u00adple of Ger\u00admany and Japan. In the late 19th Cen\u00adtu\u00adry, both those coun\u00adtries expe\u00adri\u00adenced spec\u00adtac\u00adu\u00adlar eco\u00adnom\u00adic growth. This mate\u00adr\u00adi\u00adal suc\u00adcess was not accom\u00adpa\u00adnied by any sig\u00adnif\u00adi\u00adcant devel\u00adop\u00adment of democ\u00adra\u00adcy. They remained under the rule of decrepit aris\u00adtoc\u00adra\u00adcies and mil\u00adi\u00adtary men, while their economies expand\u00aded, and for\u00adeign investors flocked to invest in them. The even\u00adtu\u00adal con\u00adse\u00adquence of this lop\u00adsided devel\u00adop\u00adment was to plunge the world into two gigan\u00adtic wars, enable the dement\u00aded slaugh\u00adter of mil\u00adlions of inno\u00adcents, and encour\u00adage the growth of obscene \u201cphiloso\u00adphies\u201d, like Marx\u00adism and Nazism, ded\u00adi\u00adcat\u00aded to the enslave\u00adment of human beings. Today, we can see exact\u00adly the same pat\u00adtern form\u00ading in Chi\u00adna. The Chi\u00adnese peo\u00adple have worked hard, under extreme\u00adly dif\u00adfi\u00adcult cir\u00adcum\u00adstances, and have cre\u00adat\u00aded a mirac\u00adu\u00adlous new pros\u00adper\u00adi\u00adty. This is the prod\u00aduct of the dynamism, cre\u00adativ\u00adi\u00adty, and courage of the peo\u00adple, not of their rulers. But the rulers are still there, in pow\u00ader, a rot\u00adting, putres\u00adcent gang of aged mass-mur\u00adder\u00aders and psy\u00adcho\u00adpath\u00adic crim\u00adi\u00adnals. There has been no progress in devel\u00adop\u00ading democ\u00adra\u00adcy, the absolute\u00adly essen\u00adtial ingre\u00addi\u00adent of civ\u00adi\u00adlized life. The even\u00adtu\u00adal con\u00adse\u00adquence of this fail\u00adure will be as hor\u00adri\u00adble as that which befell the world the last time this error was made. At this stage, a dra\u00admat\u00adic change would be nec\u00ades\u00adsary to avert impend\u00ading disaster.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here in Cana\u00adda, and more dra\u00admat\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly in the Unit\u00aded States, with whom we Cana\u00addi\u00adans have an inti\u00admate cul\u00adtur\u00adal bond, I have seen my soci\u00adety become pro\u00adgres\u00adsive\u00adly more con\u00adser\u00adv\u00ada\u00adtive, more psy\u00adcho\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly prim\u00adi\u00adtive, more mil\u00adi\u00adtaris\u00adtic, more cow\u00adard\u00adly, and more ori\u00adent\u00aded towards hier\u00adar\u00adchy and mind\u00adless obe\u00addi\u00adence. Over my life\u00adtime, I\u2019ve seen the fun\u00adda\u00admen\u00adtal ideas of lib\u00ader\u00adty, of egal\u00adi\u00adtar\u00adi\u00adan ethics, of respect for rights, and of the dig\u00adni\u00adty and sanc\u00adti\u00adty of the indi\u00advid\u00adual human being evap\u00ado\u00adrate like milk splashed on a hot stove, leav\u00ading only an ugly stain and an ugly smell. I\u2019ve seen inde\u00adpen\u00addence, cre\u00adativ\u00adi\u00adty and spon\u00adtane\u00adity, once the essence of our social cus\u00adtoms, replaced by mind\u00adless con\u00adfor\u00admi\u00adty, cal\u00adlous bru\u00adtal\u00adi\u00adty, and the cring\u00ading cow\u00adardice that char\u00adac\u00adter\u00adize a back\u00adward, strat\u00adi\u00adfied soci\u00adety. I\u2019ve seen the relent\u00adless poi\u00adson of Con\u00adser\u00advatism destroy every\u00adthing decent that we had accom\u00adplished, replac\u00ading sci\u00adence and rea\u00adson with the mum\u00adbo-jum\u00adbo of witch doc\u00adtors, rolling back sex\u00adu\u00adal atti\u00adtudes from those of free human beings to the moron\u00adic taboos and ter\u00adrors of prim\u00adi\u00adtive sav\u00adages, and simul\u00adta\u00adne\u00adous\u00adly wreck\u00ading our once-cre\u00adative econ\u00ado\u00admy. I\u2019ve seen the vul\u00adgar, ruth\u00adless, mali\u00adcious, stu\u00adpid and inane sys\u00adtem\u00adat\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly tri\u00adumph over those who are hon\u00adourable and prin\u00adci\u00adpled in almost every aspect of our lives. In the Unit\u00aded States, fun\u00adda\u00admen\u00adtal demo\u00adc\u00adra\u00adt\u00adic insti\u00adtu\u00adtions have been under sys\u00adtem\u00adat\u00adic attack by Con\u00adser\u00adv\u00ada\u00adtive ide\u00adol\u00ado\u00adgy, with no effec\u00adtive resis\u00adtance or oppo\u00adsi\u00adtion. In Cana\u00adda, demo\u00adc\u00adra\u00adt\u00adic insti\u00adtu\u00adtions are in bet\u00adter shape than in the Unit\u00aded States, but more by ran\u00addom good luck than by any con\u00adscious effort, or coura\u00adgeous defense.<\/span><\/p>\n

The great\u00adest men\u00adace to our soci\u00adety is the habit of sub\u00admis\u00adsion to aris\u00adtoc\u00adra\u00adcy. Aris\u00adtoc\u00adra\u00adcy and civ\u00adi\u00adliza\u00adtion are incom\u00adpat\u00adi\u00adble. A civ\u00adi\u00adlized peo\u00adple has no \u201cpeck\u00ading order\u201d. Civ\u00adi\u00adlized peo\u00adple do not wor\u00adship celebri\u00adties, cringe before imag\u00adi\u00adnary \u201cbet\u00adters\u201d, or sub\u00admit to \u201clead\u00aders\u201d on the basis of alpha dom\u00adi\u00adnance. Civ\u00adi\u00adlized peo\u00adple do not have lead\u00aders. They lead them\u00adselves. Civ\u00adi\u00adlized peo\u00adple make group deci\u00adsions by the rea\u00adsoned process\u00ades of law, con\u00adsul\u00adta\u00adtion, debate, and democ\u00adra\u00adcy, not by hand\u00ading over pow\u00ader to some gang of charis\u00admat\u00adic apes. Civ\u00adi\u00adlized peo\u00adple make love, not war. Civ\u00adi\u00adlized peo\u00adple make and trade things, they don\u2019t steal. Civ\u00adi\u00adlized peo\u00adple meet each oth\u00ader as equals, and judge each oth\u00ader as indi\u00advid\u00adu\u00adals, nev\u00ader as mem\u00adbers of races, or eth\u00adnic groups, or castes, or class\u00ades, or any oth\u00ader ter\u00admite-like col\u00adlec\u00adtiv\u00adi\u00adties. Civ\u00adi\u00adlized peo\u00adple respect the rights of oth\u00aders and demand that oth\u00aders respect theirs. Civ\u00adi\u00adlized peo\u00adple nev\u00ader sac\u00adri\u00adfice lib\u00ader\u00adty or human rights for mere eco\u00adnom\u00adic gain, or for the sophistries of realpoli\u00adtik, or in a neu\u00adrot\u00adic quest for the phan\u00adtom of \u201csecu\u00adri\u00adty\u201d. Civ\u00adi\u00adlized peo\u00adple nev\u00ader bow down before oth\u00aders, and nev\u00ader allow oth\u00aders to bow down before them. There is no rank in civ\u00adi\u00adliza\u00adtion. There is no author\u00adi\u00adty in civ\u00adi\u00adliza\u00adtion, except the author\u00adi\u00adty of nature and rea\u00adson, the author\u00adi\u00adty of two-plus-two-equals-four.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dra\u00admat\u00adic changes in atti\u00adtudes will be nec\u00ades\u00adsary for us to turn away from the sui\u00adci\u00addal path we have cho\u00adsen. Not many trends indi\u00adcate that we are mak\u00ading any of those crit\u00adi\u00adcal changes. And yet, I con\u00adtin\u00adue to hope, con\u00adtin\u00adue to write, con\u00adtin\u00adue to explain and implore. There are no \u201claws of his\u00adto\u00adry\u201d, there is no cer\u00adtain doom, and there is no pre\u00addes\u00adti\u00adna\u00adtion. What one gen\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtion destroys, the next can rebuild. We can have civ\u00adi\u00adliza\u00adtion, if we want it. Things can turn around. There are good, decent peo\u00adple every\u00adwhere. They only have to find the con\u00adcep\u00adtu\u00adal tools to see through the lies, schemes, and mis\u00addi\u00adrec\u00adtion of the aris\u00adtoc\u00adra\u00adcy, which are noth\u00ading more than larg\u00ader ver\u00adsions of the swin\u00addles of pet\u00adty crim\u00adi\u00adnals. Then, they have only to find each oth\u00ader, and act togeth\u00ader. It is our self-doubt and con\u00adfu\u00adsion that gives the tyrants pow\u00ader, not any strength they possess.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is not fit, not right, and not tol\u00ader\u00ada\u00adble, that we the peo\u00adple should be ruled by apes.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the begin\u00adning years of this blog, I pub\u00adlished a series of arti\u00adcles called \u201cMed\u00adi\u00adta\u00adtions on Democ\u00adracy and Dic\u00adta\u00adtor\u00adship\u201d which are still reg\u00adu\u00adlarly read today, and have had some influ\u00adence. They still elic\u00adit inquiries from remote cor\u00adners of the globe. \u2026<\/p>\n

Read more \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,1494,409],"tags":[968,967,982],"class_list":["post-5427","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-a-blog","category-ai-blog-2018","category-meditations-series","tag-democracy","tag-meditations-on-democracy","tag-phil-paine"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5427","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5427"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5427\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8137,"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5427\/revisions\/8137"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5427"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5427"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5427"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}