Democracy itself is up for reelection this Nov. What can we learn about democracy's future by delving into its past? I visit ancient Athens & Rome to see if those old stones and walls would talk to me
Good stuff! For some excellent work on the relevance/superiority of Athenian-style democracy to both plebiscitary and aleatoric (i.e. pure sortitition) versions, I recommend the three recent books by Roslyn Fuller.
Democracy: Two wolves and a sheep deciding what to have for dinner
Democracy is not enough without a mechanism to protect the minority from the predation of the majority. The US Constitution, imperfect as it is, was a major step in that direction. Unfortunately too often today it is regarded as "just a damn piece of paper".
A substantial majority of Americans support democracy (or at least claim to in polls), so why do you feel that there's even a chance that they will vote for someone this fall who will undermine or eliminate US democracy? It's worth asking if we're wrong about Americans' attitudes towards democracy, or if swing voters (who seem poised to defect from Biden) don't see Trump as a real threat to democracy.
I'm with you on the hopeful side: "It seems highly unlikely to me, then, that democracy and representative government are has-beens, soon to be viewed in the rear view mirror. No, they are works in progress. And that work will never be finished.". But I'm anxious this time.
I write on a touching topic, if you have the time:
Good stuff! For some excellent work on the relevance/superiority of Athenian-style democracy to both plebiscitary and aleatoric (i.e. pure sortitition) versions, I recommend the three recent books by Roslyn Fuller.
Democracy: Two wolves and a sheep deciding what to have for dinner
Democracy is not enough without a mechanism to protect the minority from the predation of the majority. The US Constitution, imperfect as it is, was a major step in that direction. Unfortunately too often today it is regarded as "just a damn piece of paper".
A substantial majority of Americans support democracy (or at least claim to in polls), so why do you feel that there's even a chance that they will vote for someone this fall who will undermine or eliminate US democracy? It's worth asking if we're wrong about Americans' attitudes towards democracy, or if swing voters (who seem poised to defect from Biden) don't see Trump as a real threat to democracy.
I'm with you on the hopeful side: "It seems highly unlikely to me, then, that democracy and representative government are has-beens, soon to be viewed in the rear view mirror. No, they are works in progress. And that work will never be finished.". But I'm anxious this time.
I write on a touching topic, if you have the time:
https://adrianzidaritz.substack.com/