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Observing the pantagruelian expense and listening to and reading about the nauseating, sociopathic babble of the seemingly endless Republican primaries in the United States; people all over the world are questioning the democratic process and wondering if China’s authoritarian system might be superior.
In my opinion, this is not a problem of systems, democracy is not an end in itself, it is simply a means to an end. The object in democracy is the same as in any system, be it an authoritarian or even a totalitarian, tyrannical regime: governance.
Democracy, by allowing a fuller expression of the people who practice it, logically expresses more faithfully the nature of that people then any other system possibly could. If the society practicing democracy is decadent and corrupt, so their democratic expression will reflect that decadence and corruption.
In the United States, quoting today’s The Guardian:
“Almost one third of Americans, according to a recent poll, have read Atlas Shrugged, and it now sells hundreds of thousands of copies every year.”.
The financial crisis we are suffering now, worldwide, is simply the result of a faithful following over decades of the psychopathic philosophy of Ayn Rand by the United States of America, which happens to be the world’s most powerful country… The disaster that follows cannot be laid at the feet of democracy… just like with computers, in democracy GIGO applies: “garbage in, garbage out“.
It is the United States and its values that have been hollowed out and debased, not democracy.
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Funny, there are no “free” images of Ayn Rand…
[Mod Note - There is quite a selection of copyright free Ayn Rand images here: http://www.flickr.com/search/?l=cc&mt=photos&adv=1&w=all&q=%22Ayn+Rand%22&m=text
Of course not dummy, that is the whole idea.
Do they go on how their darling Ayn Rand ended up poor and on the government dole? Of course not! Millions of books can be sold and purchased by the truck loads. That doesn’t mean they actually get read. Status symbol to have on their shelves.
Having visited Spain shortly before Bush II’ Iraq War and seeing the demonstrations, I believe the Spanish are now more capable of a democracy than Americans. I’m sure there’s an interesting history.
However, I presume you mean that the “system of democracy” (and not the ideal) in America has not been hollowed out and debased. That, of course, is wrong. I have not read deeply on this subject, but Madison and others demanded a republic specifically to protect an minority elite. Only later in the mid-1800′s was “democracy” employed to describe American governance. This sleight-of-hand has persisted while mis-education and propaganda further inhibited the participation in democracy and seduction encouraged them to become compradors.
No doubt they’ve become to a large extent corrupted but it is dubious that their empire is their full responsibility. Franklin even had doubts that we could keep a republic, let alone a democracy.
Another of your causation’s must be questioned. First, it took the participation of more than Randroids to pull off the financialization of America. Many compradors were specifically not Rand devotees, but they allowed themselves to be entertained by speculative madness. Furthermore, it is dubious that the instigators saw themselves as incarnations of John Galt. Rather, they were not Objectivists but ordinary capitalist plunderers.
It is also likely that the growing popularity of Rand follows from the economic collapse in a nation of dreamers. Whereas in prior collapses unionization drew people into workers organizations, the preparation for this collapse drew them into an libertarianism.
The Randian, libertarian corruption is in large measure a reaction and not the sole cause.
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I am talking about the influence that Rand has had on the American right wing. The Republican are now gathering under one roof the followers of Any Rand and of Jesus Christ… oil and water… They are completely schizoid. This is what I mean about the society being corrupted first and the political system merely expressing that.
Checked the link out… not much in it.
I’ve met a politically active Libertarian attending Liberty University. He knowledgeably criticized the American relationship with Israel which Liberty has done much to twist. Did not ask him how he reconciled his Christianity with his politics, but I suspect it’s because he’s a true believer in capitalism and would support a social safety net which prefers Christians. U, being in Spain, know about the uses and abuses of Xtianity.
I would say that Christianity, specifically in the Catholic Church, and Capitalism have been the major retarding influences on democracy. Mercantilism and capitalism were the means by which democracy was born but the materialist and spiritual empire/evangelism arising out of Europe managed to split the Western psyche. That corruption waylaid the democratic pretenders.
So it’s no wonder that a party which has always been anti-democratic would have preference for libertarian capitalism and evangelical Xtianity. The corruption is much older than Randoid demagoguery.