books2read.com/thirddraft
Author, 'The Mechanics of Changing the World: Political Architecture to Roll Back State & Corporate Power' https://books2read.com/thirddraft Aussie, journo: NYT, SMH Designer, anti-poverty projects, Cambodia #ThirdDraftDemocracy #DemocracyWorks #Vote
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books2read.com/thirddraft
'Goliath' is not just contesting us at pingpong: he owns the bats, the table & the players. He wrote the rules. He can't be defeated within the present system: he *is* the present system. A system can only be replaced by a system. #Democracy #DemocracyWorks #TheMechanicsOfChangingTheWorld
Our oligarchy can be โpoliticalโ (left-leaning, right-leaning) when needed. But its main focus is on gaining control of the people, rules & institutions by which politics is made. That's why our activism & our politics come to so little: weโre not even playing the same game. #ThirdDraftDemocracy
In Athens & the early American Republic, what kept democracy alive was endless expansion. I don't think democracy stays alive if it stands still. Stasis = death. #ThirdDraftDemocracy #DeliberativeDemocracy #DirectDemocracy
I think the Constitution has been on the back foot for the whole neoliberal era. I can't see America's issues being resolved until people address them at the level on which they're being created. These are not Trump (or Biden) problems - these are symptoms of a rotted system. #ThirdDraftDemocracy
Probably can only end by devolving more direct legislative power down to ordinary people. And cutting off legislators' ill-gotten gains. And making them much more dispensible. The Greeks did this with great success. As do the modern Swiss. #DeliberativeDemocracy
Right upstream, it probably stems from the old agent/principal dilemma: Governments are elected to represent us, but soon develop their own agendas - including personal profit & self-preservation. War - being highly monetizable - is good for both. #ThirdDraftDemocracy #DirectDemocracy
No new president will or can fix it: you can't replace a system with a person. You can only replace a system with a system. You could call that democratization. #PoliticalReform #ThirdDraftDemocracy
During the last couple of generations, there was a slow, 'boiling frog' transition from democracy & prosperity to oligarchy & scarcity. It's sometimes called neoliberalism: every human activity -child-raising, leisure time, health - kowtows to profit. #CivicEngagement #DemocracyWorks
New World Order.
America's problems are systemic, so they can only be tackled at the level of the system. Biden & Trump are late-stage symptoms of a process that's been in train for decades. #DemocracyWorks
Lots of talk now about the disintegration of democracy. I don't think the US has been a Republic or a democracy since (at least) Nov 22, 1963. A reformist president was murdered in broad daylight, & all 18 subsequent administrations covered it up. #Democracy #ThirdDraftDemocracy
- Deep civic education - Break-up of media cartels No-one, Left or Right, likes elites. This is the way to take their power away.
Any political party would attract more support if it pledged to support a constitutional bill that introduced: - Deliberative democracy - Direct democracy - Proportional representation - Zero money in politics #ThirdDraftDemocracy #Democracy #PoliticalBooks
In curing my 5 autoimmune diseases, if i'd followed medical advice by now I'd be dead several times over.
There's a strange echo of this 50 years on, in today's Cambodia: where every third US bomb unearthed by de-mining teams had its fuze disabled in the factory. There's always resistance to an unjust system. #ThirdDraftDemocracy #Democracy #DemocracyWorks
This is me in a B-52 bomb crater in northern Cambodia, ~10y ago. There were craters all through this forest. But no bombs were dropped on the adjoining village. As the village was a sitting duck, the locals believe the American pilots can only have done this on purpose, to avoid hurting people.
Does tracking the political drama soothe us, & afford the illusion of forward movement? Is it just the power of conditioning that we never seek to replace our system with one that works for us? books2read.com/thirddraft #NonFictionReads #CitizenPower
Increasingly, our politics spins its wheels. Why do we fixate on it? Is this a kind of neurosisโa 'displacement activity'? Like tidying the house as an avalanche bears down?
Great democracies (Classical Athens, early American Republic) continually expanded: Rights The franchise Civic buy-in And the democratic machinery. #CitizenPower #PoliticalInnovation #BookForChange
Most democracy activists want to defend democracy against its enemies. Hold the line. I don't think that's working. The way to defend democracy is to expand it.
Or do we re-democratise the West (many birds, one stone)? #Democracy #DemocracyWorks
Falling real wages, declining public health, overpriced healthcare. $36-trillion deficits, polarisation, low-grade politicians. Do we keep attacking these things individually (whack-a-mole)? #ThirdDraftDemocracy
The creation of wars, $36tn budget deficits, soaring healthcare costs... There are many tools available by which we can return decision-making to the people. It's time we picked them up. #DeliberativeDemocracy #DirectDemocracy #MediaReform
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐น/๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐น๐ฒ๐บ๐บ๐ฎ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ด๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ป๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐: In modern democracies, we are the 'principal' & legislators the 'agent'. Most of the evils of governance are 'agency costs': things politicians do for their own benefit, & their donors' benefit - but not ours:
War, pollution, the public health crisis. Falling real wages, unaffordable healthcare, gun violence. Democratisation cures all of it. #NonFictionReads #CitizenPower #PoliticalInnovation
Our crises go back not to 'conservatives' - or 'liberals' - but to plutocracy. To organized money capturing public policy & the public conversation. Elect who you like: but if we donโt fix that, we donโt fix much. #Democracy2025 #DemocracyWorks
Left v. Right is our uber-psyop Beneath that distraction, the work of modern politics is to transfer our wealth to the corporations that have captured our legislatures. Few who oppose this work will get endorsement by a major party, campaign money, or media coverage. #DemocracyWorks #FixDemocracy
Humans wouldn't have survived a million years of ice ages & genetic bottlenecks if we weren't good at co-operation & compromise. That capacity hasn't gone anywhere. It's just been interrupted by an obsolete political design. #ThirdDraftDemocracy #Democracy #DemocracyWorks #Politics #NonFiction
Interesting perspective. I suspect it has more than a grain of truth.
๐ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ด๐ผ๐ฟโ๐ '๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ' ๐ถ๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ถ๐น๐น๐ถ๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ฏ๐น๐๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐. ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐น๐ณ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ด๐ต ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ป ๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ต๐ผ๐ ๐ถ๐บ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ ๐ถ๐. - ๐ง๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ด๐ฒ, ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฝ๐ก๐ค๐ฌ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฝ๐ค๐ค๐ ๐จ #RebuildDemocracy #NonFictionReads #BookForChange
๐๐ฎ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด. ๐ ๐ ๐ต๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐น๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฎ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฎ๐ด๐ผ๐ด๐๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ด๐๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ฐ๐ต ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ต๐ฒ๐น๐ฝ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฎ ๐๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ. - ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ฑ ๐๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐น, ๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐น๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฝ๐๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ผ๐น๐ผ๐ด๐ถ๐๐, ๐๐๐ข, ๐ฎ๐๐๐ต๐ผ๐ฟ
๐จ๐ป๐น๐ถ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐บ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐, ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ ๐ผ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐น๐๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฏ๐๐ถ๐น๐ฑ ๐ฎ ๐๐๐๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐บ๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ฐ ๐ณ๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ. - ๐ ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฒ๐น ๐ง๐ฎ๐๐น๐ผ๐ฟ, ๐ผ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ง๐๐ก๐๐๐ฃ ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฉ๐ฌ๐ค๐ง๐
๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ผ๐ป ๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ด๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ท๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ป๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐๐บ, ๐ฝ๐ผ๐น๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ป๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ผ๐ฝ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐โ๐ถ๐ป๐ฐ๐น๐๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ผ๐ป-๐๐ต๐ฒ-๐ด๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ง๐ถ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ ๐๐๐ฟ๐บ๐ฎโ ๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ๐น๐๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐น๐ถ๐บ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐บ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ ๐น๐ถ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐ถ๐ธ๐ฎ, ๐ง๐ถ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ๐ป๐บ๐ฒ๐ป, ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฏ ๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ข๐ฐ๐ฐ๐๐ฝ๐....
๐ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฏ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฑโ๐-๐ฒ๐๐ฒ-๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐๐๐๐ฒ๐บโ๐ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ถ๐น๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐, ๐ต๐ผ๐ ๐๐ฒ ๐ด๐ผ๐ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ โ๐ง๐ต๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฑ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ณ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐โ ๐บ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ ๐น๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ ๐น๐ถ๐ธ๐ฒ. ๐๐ป๐ฑ ๐ถ๐โ๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ-๐๐๐ฟ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ. - ๐๐ป๐ผ๐ป, ๐๐ค๐ค๐๐ง๐๐๐๐จ #SocialJustice #GlobalPolitics #NonFiction #NonFictionReads
๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฐ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐น๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ด. ๐๐ ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ด๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ด๐ฎ๐ฝ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฅ๐ง๐ค๐๐ก๐๐ข ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐จ๐ค๐ก๐ช๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ. ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ผ ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ต ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐น๐น๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฑ๐ผ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ถ๐. - ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ป๐ฒ ๐ง๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐, ๐๐๐๐ง ๐๐๐จ๐๐ง๐ซ๐๐ง #PoliticalChange #Politics2025 #Democracy #Politics
๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐โฆ ๐๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐บ๐ถ๐น๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ฏ๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐๐ ๐ฟ๐๐ฌ๐ฃ ๐ค๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฎ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ฑ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฒ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ช๐ฒ๐ป๐ด๐ฟ๐ผ๐, ๐ฌ๐๐๐ฎ๐น ๐ก๐ผ๐ฎ๐ต ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ถ'๐ ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐น๐๐บ๐ฒ๐, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ๐ ๐ฏ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ป๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐บ๐ผ๐ป๐ฑ. - ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ๐, ๐ณ๐บ๐ฟ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐, ๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ
Some reviews: ๐ ๐ ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ. - ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด, ๐ฎ๐๐๐ต๐ผ๐ฟ, ๐๐๐ ๐๐ง๐๐๐๐ง๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐๐ผ๐น๐๐๐ฒ๐น๐ ๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐น. ๐ข๐ป๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐บ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ถ๐บ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ. - ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ, ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐น๐ฒ๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐ถ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป #Democracy #ThirdDraftDemocracy #DemocracyWorks #Books
What perfection.
Done.
This is probably Trumpian distraction more than anything. Republicans will accept mail-in ballots - they have done so before: indeed Trump has done so before - but it would need to be part of a general process of democratisation. #ThirdDraftDemocracy #Democracy #DemocracyWorks
In an oligarchy with democratic outer forms, both sides are rotten but in different ways. That's so we'll think the wealth transfers & the wars are the fault of the bad guys on the Left/Right. Liberal/conservative is our core psyop. #ThirdDraftDemocracy
Anything that goes to the character & make-up of a community - e.g. elections, immigration - should be well out of the hands of politicians & courts. It could all be handled by randomly chosen citizen assemblies that refer on big decisions (laws) to referendums & plebiscites. #ThirdDraftDemocracy
I do wonder if Trump cares that much about immigration (seeing as his class benefits so much from it), & if much of this is distraction from the wealth transfers that proceed quietly in the background. He's not a complex soul, & he does understand distraction. #Democracy
Lovely old pamphlet. Ten years after the Glorious Revolution, which set the Brits on the road to democracy.
Which is why I tend to believe that attacking our social/economic/geopolitical issues one at a time (whack-a-mole) has not worked, & that the thing that will work is a system change (democratization) that addresses all that's on your list + more. #ThirdDraftDemocracy
* 'Third draft democracy': #Constitutional tools to decontaminate politics, decentralize #media, cleanse the #Election process, & raise โcivic IQโ * Changing the world: Not policies, not leaders - but architecture * Simple ways to wrangle social complexity * #Revolution #Democracy #Civics
...constitutional amendment, #Activism, #PoliticalCapture, #AgencyCapture, #MediaCartels, #InformationLiteracy, #CivicEducation, 'divide and rule', #Plutocracy, #Whistleblower protection * Using evolutionary principles to make governance work * Designing out #StateCapture #ThirdDraftDemocracy
My recent book interview with Kim Iversen. Our topics: * War, inequality & govt corruption: insoluble in the current political framework * And: #PoliticalReform, #SystemChange, #DirectDemocracy, #DeliberativeDemocracy, #ProportionalRepresentation, #VoteByMail, #Subsidiarity, #Referendums...
Agreed with bells on, Tony. The proportional system (& #ThirdDraftDemocracy overall) will see more independents & less rigid party lines. So there's a built-in advantage for independents to push political reform.
When there's state capture, voting for the other party wonโt change much. Our disasters can't end under the present system, as its goal is to generate profitable crises. (Wars, financial crashes, chronic disease epidemics...) It will end once this system has been replaced by rational governance.
Thank you.
That's what I'd call a scary post.
Agreed. I think first past the post suits the two parties who are usually first past the post. I.e. the two-party system suits the two parties. I'd also like to see an expansion of deliberative & direct democracy. We have too many crises looming, & I can't see a way out short of democratising.
It's a plutocracy party, just like the other one. You won't get out of this mess till you reinvent #Democracy.
Yes, both sides have been bought. I don't understand the violent hatred of one side & love of the other. It's oligarchy all over.
X appears to be engaging in as much shadowbanning in the Trump era as it was in the Biden era. Those promises didn't amount to much.
Well I think it was already pretty much dead. There's been huge rigging on both sides. The pol sci tell us decisions are made for the corporate elite - not for the people. You had a President assassinated in 1963, whose murderers have been protected by every succeeding administration. A goner.
Redistricting & elections should be handled by citizens, in randomly chosen panels (deliberative democracy). Parties & bureaucrats suffer from self-interest & groupthink, & are not well-suited to this task.
The main thing I remember is having to put up with what seemed like several centuries of Ronald Reagan.
Having lived in dictatorships, I'm not sure about autocracy. But I can't see much trouble in proving oligarchy.
books2read.com/thirddraft
Maybe the EU should democratise? That way you could solve many problems with one move. #ThirdDraftDemocracy #Democracy #DemocracyWorks
Yep, Australia's preferential voting is fine - but it needs to be built into a proportional representation system.
That's an idea. Did BS allow you to follow a whole lot at once? (Sometimes mass join-ups are interpreted at bots/automation.)
I remember reading about the coming leisure economy' in the 1970s. We were all going to be working 4 hours a week. But since then the state has been captured by wealth.
3/3 ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ด๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป๐ณ๐น๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐บ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ๐ ๐ถ๐๐๐ฒ๐น๐ณ? [๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐จ ๐ค๐ ๐พ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ค๐ง๐ก๐: ๐๐ค๐ก๐๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ก ๐ผ๐ง๐๐๐๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ค๐ก๐ก ๐ฝ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฉ๐๐ฉ๐ & ๐พ๐ค๐ง๐ฅ๐ค๐ง๐๐ฉ๐ ๐๐ค๐ฌ๐๐ง. (๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐๐ถ๐๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐๐๐ฟ๐๐ฐ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ผ๐น๐ถ๐ด๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ต-๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฒ๐๐.)] #DemocracyWorks
2/3 ๐ง๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐ณ ๐๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฎ ๐น๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฒ๐น๐ฑ - ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐บ๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ฐ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ด๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฟ๐ผ๐น๐ฒ - ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐โ๐ฑ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ผ๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ ๐บ๐ผ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐๐ณ๐ ๐บ๐ผ๐๐, & ๐๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐น๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป? ๐๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ๐ป'๐ ๐ฐ๐น๐๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ฒ๐ณ๐/๐ฅ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐? #Democracy
1/3 ๐ง๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐บ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ด๐ผ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฑ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ต๐ถ๐น๐น ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐น๐ถ๐ฝ. ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐๐ฎ๐น ๐ฐ๐๐น๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ผ๐น๐ผ๐ด๐. ('๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ณ๐/๐ฅ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ป๐๐ฟ๐.') ๐๐ผ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐น ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐โ๐ ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐บ๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ฐ '๐บ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ถ๐ฐ๐' ๐ถ๐ป๐๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ? #ThirdDraftDemocracy
There's been a big change, as we've gradually transitioned from democracies to oligarchies. You don't get that sense of empowerment or optimism any more.
Wow.
*๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐จ ๐ค๐ ๐พ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ค๐ง๐ก๐. (๐พ๐ค๐ฃ๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐๐ก ๐จ๐ฉ๐ง๐ช๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ง๐๐จ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ก๐๐ข๐๐ฃ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐ฉ๐ง๐ค๐ก ๐๐ฎ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ก๐ฉ๐ ๐ค๐ ๐ฅ๐ค๐ก๐๐ฉ๐๐๐จ, ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐ค๐ฃ๐ค๐ข๐ฎ, ๐จ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐๐, ๐ข๐๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ & ๐ฌ๐๐ง.) books2read.com/thirddraft #ThirdDraftDemocracy #DemocracyWorks #RebuildDemocracy
๐ฆ๐ถ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฑ, ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐บ๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ช๐ฒ๐๐'๐ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ ๐๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ฒ'๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ & ๐ฅ๐๐๐๐ถ๐ฎ'๐ ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ-๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ผ๐น๐ถ๐ด๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฝ๐น๐๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐บ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ด๐ป๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐บ๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ - ๐๐น๐ฎ๐๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ป๐, ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐น๐ ๐๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐๐ฏ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ - ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ญ๐ฅ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ฃ๐* ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐บ๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ = ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ต #Democracy
More Trump than Trump.
Randomly selected citizen assemblies. Work great wherever they've been tried. Then another one to run the election & do the count. Then a third one to discuss & draft any changes needed to electoral law, write the questions, & put them to a referendum. It's called a rational political system.
Sounds as if he is going for the Donald Trump Prize for Tweet-Writing.
5/5 That's why I think we should bite the bullet of system reform. Our issues are large & many: whack-a-mole isn't working. Democratisation: many birds, one stone. #ThirdDraftDemocracy #DemocracyWorks #Democracy
4/5 Yet they preside over falling real wages, & declining public health. They spend unseemly amounts of taxpayer money on war. In polling worldwide, publics perceive them to serve not the people but 'a few big interests'.
3/5 Our elites in the West are not so frankly criminal. They wear suits, fly to international meetings, & give polite speeches about peace & prosperity.
2/5 Being so 'loudly' evil, slavery well-illustrates what can happen when government passes into the hands of a tiny, unaccountable elite. (Burma & Libya are both essentially run by criminal gangs.)
1/5 I took this picture of slaves for The New York Times in Burma in 2005. These people had been abducted ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ด๐ด๐ฆ by the army, & made to work without pay on army projects. After the West's overthrow of Gadaffi, slavery is back in Libya too.
Democratising would fix the most things the fastest, IMO. Putting the people in charge of the government.
I'd be happy if the very contentious power to design an electoral system & run elections were handed to randomly selected citizen assemblies. These assemblies work well in just about every other context. We need for much more power to be put in the hands of ordinary citizens. #ThirdDraftDemocracy
A fairly common ploy for these Atlantic Council-like entities is to get funding from a weapons manufacturer to lobby government to buy more weapons as a means to securing further funding from a weapons manufacturer. In my book I call it 'circularity'. #ThirdDraftDemocracy
Yeah, but causes also have causes. Power has drifted into oligarchic hands because we've not evolved our democracy to keep up with oligarchy's ploys & ruses. If the government were actually in the hands of the people, none of this could have occurred. First causes. #ThirdDraftDemocracy
In most nations, the Founders knew the constitution would need periodic amendment. So they included amendment clauses. We need to take them at their word, & use them. books2read.com/thirddraft #democracy #ThirdDraftDemocracy #DemocracyWorks
Our constitutions were penned before the advent of indoor plumbing. They can no longer โseeโ the conditions that give rise to polarisationโfor example monopoly media (information capture) & political money (government capture).
And division, not unity Polarisation = the plutocratโs dream. It halves the opposition; distracts the masses; delivers large profits. Thus we now have a Left which hates banks, war, political corruption, MSM & MAGA. And MAGA movement that hates banks, war, political corruption, MSM & the Left.
Weโre ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ข๐ ๐๐ฆ good at co-operation. Hunter-gatherer bands wouldn't have survived a million years if human societies were naturally disunited. I conclude in my book* that todayโs fractiousness is largely the result of an obsolete political design that fosters plutocracy, not democracy.
A few words on ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฅ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ฌ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง: The political science tells us that it's mostly tribal allegiance, not policy differences. Weโre in sufficient agreement on most subjects to get things done. Itโs the team labels that make us want to kill each other.
In most nations, the Founders knew the constitution would need periodic amendment. They included amendment clauses. They included amendment clauses so we could use them. books2read.com/thirddraft
And a MAGA movement that hates banks, war, political corruption, MSM & the Left. Our constitutions were penned before the advent of indoor plumbing. They can no longer โseeโ the conditions that spawn polarizationโe.g. monopoly media (information capture) & political money (government capture).
Our polarization is the plutocratโs dream. It halves the opposition; it distracts the masses; & it delivers large profits. Thus we now have a Left which hates banks, war, political corruption, MSM & MAGA.
Humans are good at co-operation & compromise. Hunter-gatherer bands wouldn't have survived a million years of ice ages & genetic bottlenecks if they were disunited. Todayโs fractiousness is the result of an obsolete political design. One that sidelines collaboration.
Itโs the team labels that make us want to rant about the *sheer evil* of the other side. (While our peoples' sins are 'well-intentioned mistakes'.) This is an artefact of the divisive, zero-sum nature of our present political design.
The political science tells us that polarization is mostly tribal allegiance, not policy differences. Weโre in enough agreement on most subjects to get things done.
My latest advice from Grok (Elon Musk's AI engine): 1. Yes, what Israel is doing in Gaza does meet the definition of genocide. 2. Do not make this claim on X, to avoid a shadowban.
...Korea, Brazil, Romania, Albania, India, El Salvador, Yugoslavia, Kenya, Cuba, Nigeria, Thailand, Ethiopia and Mexico. โThe Mechanics of Changing the Worldโ (Chapter 4โScattered Reappearance of Democratic Practices.)