Every once in a while I think about how things would turn out if there was a system like the one in Starship Troopers:
Everyone has rights, except voting. To be able to vote, you have to serve. It doesn't matter if you have some severe disability, they will find something for you to do, even if it means installing an useless lever somewhere and asking you to move it up and down on a daily basis.
And only 3 things stop you from serving: not being able to understand your oath, being a criminal or having quit the process previously.
If people have to commit and sacrifice in order to be able to vote, maybe they take it more seriously.
Woodrow Wilson won election on a fluke (he had no mandate) but once in office he introduced radical change. He started off our policy of world policing, laid the bedrock for the United Nations, premiered the money printing (Federal Reserve) and revived racism as a political force. A horrible, horrible administration - easily the worst in US history and most of our problems can be traced back to his work.
The French Revolution was essentially the world's first try at communism. A lot of the chaos that has occurred overseas started there.
The Reformation opened the doors to the way of thinking that led to the French Revolution.
It might make more sense to start at the beginning. Essentially what happened is this - prior to the 1500s, the primary model was monarchies. Monarchies had their issues but their power was limited. A king is essentially one guy who has to balance the needs of the nobles and the people, or else be overthrown. Kings could not print money, they could not take income tax, they could not conscript soldiers. The bureaucratic footprint was also small. Congress requires hundreds of reps, each with many staff members, whereas a king just needs a security detail.
After the Reformation the model drifted towards socialism. First step was republics. With a republic, suddenly the state has "the consent of the governed" so they were able to commit much larger abuses. For example, the first military conscription in Europe was during The French Revolution. Prior to that, soldiers needed to volunteer and be paid a salary. And again, that money wasn't printed.
It is an uncomfortable truth about history that monarchies are much more peaceful, and much less tyrannical. I'm not sure how the USA is going to square that circle in the future but time and again history has shown that republics are prone to Civil War, imperialism, and unbelievable overreaches. Monarchy is essentially a boogeyman that has never accomplished these sorts of abuses.
You know how we often make fun of communism? With phrases like "it just hasn't been tried yet." Well that's basically how I see republics at this point. When I was younger I believed they could work, but the USA is following the path of Rome to a T. The civil wars, the imperialism, and only ten generations or so before collapse.
I just saw this, absolutely monstrous reply. Thank you very much. SPQR and all that. How do you consolidate that with the birth of this nation? Did issues begin with the magma carts? Curious about your perspective.
Low information voters is why democracies don't work.
Every once in a while I think about how things would turn out if there was a system like the one in Starship Troopers:
Everyone has rights, except voting. To be able to vote, you have to serve. It doesn't matter if you have some severe disability, they will find something for you to do, even if it means installing an useless lever somewhere and asking you to move it up and down on a daily basis.
And only 3 things stop you from serving: not being able to understand your oath, being a criminal or having quit the process previously.
If people have to commit and sacrifice in order to be able to vote, maybe they take it more seriously.
The average IQ is 100.
Every time you expand the voter pool, that's one step closer to the average voter having an IQ of 100.
The average IQ is now below 100 in the US due to immigration policies, but I know what you mean.
Can you expand in 3 through 5?
Too much to go over here, so I'll be brief.
Woodrow Wilson won election on a fluke (he had no mandate) but once in office he introduced radical change. He started off our policy of world policing, laid the bedrock for the United Nations, premiered the money printing (Federal Reserve) and revived racism as a political force. A horrible, horrible administration - easily the worst in US history and most of our problems can be traced back to his work.
The French Revolution was essentially the world's first try at communism. A lot of the chaos that has occurred overseas started there.
The Reformation opened the doors to the way of thinking that led to the French Revolution.
It might make more sense to start at the beginning. Essentially what happened is this - prior to the 1500s, the primary model was monarchies. Monarchies had their issues but their power was limited. A king is essentially one guy who has to balance the needs of the nobles and the people, or else be overthrown. Kings could not print money, they could not take income tax, they could not conscript soldiers. The bureaucratic footprint was also small. Congress requires hundreds of reps, each with many staff members, whereas a king just needs a security detail.
After the Reformation the model drifted towards socialism. First step was republics. With a republic, suddenly the state has "the consent of the governed" so they were able to commit much larger abuses. For example, the first military conscription in Europe was during The French Revolution. Prior to that, soldiers needed to volunteer and be paid a salary. And again, that money wasn't printed.
It is an uncomfortable truth about history that monarchies are much more peaceful, and much less tyrannical. I'm not sure how the USA is going to square that circle in the future but time and again history has shown that republics are prone to Civil War, imperialism, and unbelievable overreaches. Monarchy is essentially a boogeyman that has never accomplished these sorts of abuses.
You know how we often make fun of communism? With phrases like "it just hasn't been tried yet." Well that's basically how I see republics at this point. When I was younger I believed they could work, but the USA is following the path of Rome to a T. The civil wars, the imperialism, and only ten generations or so before collapse.
I just saw this, absolutely monstrous reply. Thank you very much. SPQR and all that. How do you consolidate that with the birth of this nation? Did issues begin with the magma carts? Curious about your perspective.
Currently looking into Eastern Orthodoxy, so I guess that takes one to 5.
Rock and Sand book takes aim at Reformation from Orthodox perspective.