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New Democracy has certainly yielded some suboptimal results lately
…and this does not surprise, given that the so many of the Teeming Millions are addled and credulous. Somewhere (around eight or ten years ago, I think) I ran across an observation to the effect that the left has to get over the idea that Americans are decent, goodhearted folks who are being manipulated by cynical plutocrats, and realize instead that Americans are vengeful jerks who are being manipulated by cynical plutocrats. These conditions are clearly not unique to North America.

This said, how are we to organize society? We might have better luck under an enlightened despot than under the “popularly” elected Donald J. Trump, but where does one find an enlightened despot, much less a reliable supply of these? And, of course, “enlightened” by whose, er, lights? The social and economic scheme under which you might prefer to live would likely be abhorrent to the Christian reconstructionist down the block, and vice-versa.

As my old acquaintance Henry (probably Heinrich), a veteran of the Wehrmacht’s drive into the USSR in 1941-42 (luckily injured at a point in the campaign when it was still practical to evacuate casualties back to Germany) observed to me once, “the most depraved street criminal is not more ruthless than the wealthy in defense of their privilege.” It’s difficult to imagine a system that the rich will not strive to corrupt to their exclusive advantage.

A conundrum.

cordially,
New I don't have any recommendations for a solution.
The old tv series "Kung Fu" stole a lot of their material from various Taoist texts. Surprisingly, they often did not completely misrepresent the original meaning. With the recent failures (imo) of Western Democracies of late, I'm reminded of one such story. A blind priest is about to be executed along with another prisoner. The priest is nonplussed by his impending doom and this causes the prisoner to ask, "Has your lack of sight made you so weary of this life?" The priest chuckles and replies, "It is not my lack of vision that causes me to grow weary of this life, but the presence of my hearing." Each and every year since 1980 I have moved closer to that position.

It may well be that we cannot find our benevolent dictator because we, on the whole, do not deserve one. As constituted, mankind may be incapable of building a just system of governance. It may be the case that democracy would work, if only the populace on the whole was well-informed and interested in something more than the accumulation of stuff and procreation. I don't see our species evolving past that and every society we've built in the past 2,000 years has ultimately succumbed to the greed of a tiny minority. Yet, we learn nothing. And so it goes.
bcnu,
Mikem

It's mourning in America again.
New natural selection
Our species emerged from the last ice age as small populations of nomadic hunter-gatherers, and neither our brains nor our dietary requirements have much changed since then. The wonder is not that we do urban/industrial/bureaucratic societies poorly, but that we have contrived to conduct these at all.

cordially,
     Brexit short form. Or does democracy actually work to the benefit of anyone? - (mmoffitt) - (21)
         Democracy has certainly yielded some suboptimal results lately - (rcareaga) - (2)
             I don't have any recommendations for a solution. - (mmoffitt) - (1)
                 natural selection - (rcareaga)
         The Sheeple of the UK got manipulated by Russian disinformation... - (a6l6e6x) - (6)
             I've no doubt Russian money played a role there, as here. - (mmoffitt)
             Indeed. - (Another Scott) - (1)
                 Parliament had a chance to nip it in the bud, and passed. The cu-ts. -NT - (mmoffitt)
             ..maybe deeper in the psyche than mere Russky contrivances - (Ashton) - (2)
                 Thoreau rather than Thurber - (rcareaga) - (1)
                     Agreed, in restaurants and in third-guessing - (Ashton)
         That's about the size of it - (pwhysall) - (10)
             "All" is a bit harsh, don't you think? - (mmoffitt) - (9)
                 Nope - (pwhysall) - (8)
                     What are the chances she wants it to fail so they can pull out of, er, pulling out? -NT - (malraux) - (6)
                         That'd work for me! - (pwhysall)
                         Then why she's so adamant about no second referendum? - (mmoffitt) - (4)
                             That's what I'm getting at. How much of this is a play? - (malraux) - (1)
                                 If it doesn't pass, Labour's making noises about a No Confidence vote. - (mmoffitt)
                             Because idiot - (pwhysall) - (1)
                                 Speaking of Sherlock, is there another season on the way? -NT - (drook)
                     I read that a little differently. - (mmoffitt)

If there were bombs.
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