Democracy Vs Reality

[TheHampdenRaven]

Republic... Not democracy, there is no such thing as a Democracy. Like in our own country pledge "and to the republic for which it stands" We are nothing but the same thing Rome was before Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus took over the republic. A Democracy is government ran by the people meaning we would vote for every law pasted, instead we vote for a person to represent us and to speak for us. Thats a republic! Get it straight if you want to talk about it!

[SecularNumanist]

@TheHampdenRaven

" instead we vote for a person to represent us and to speak for us. Thats a republic! Get it straight if you want to talk about it!"

yeah, you didnt even watch the video

[MelasChupa]

"even revolutionary tyranny" genius.

[chrispollock]

the anarchists are not desirable. but i like them better than communists. communists are scary as hell. want to create a hive society

[RadioFreeWisconsin]

There was a great deal of coercion in the 1936 Spanish Revolution. Force was used to integreate people into the communes. If that is your model of an anarchist society, you may want to look for something else.

[buddhagem]

Radio, surely you don't think anarchists are looking for a model, be that Spain or the Kibutz in Israel or even the Paris Commune. Those are, at best approximations of what we'd like, riddled, of course, with the frailties of human error. We have no blueprint.

[RadioFreeWisconsin]

I think that Anarcho-Socialists need to answer the question of whether or not it is right to use coercion to make someone be apart of the commune. I am not oppossed to communes, so long as no one is forced to be part of one, or has his property taken over by the commune. It should only be based upon voluntary consent.

[buddhagem]

Well if you're familiar with Spain then you know there wasn't one way. In some cases the factory owner was paid back. In other cases they worked alongside the other workers. In others the factory was simply taken. As far as being part of a community, it would have to be voluntary. There's plenty of literature on this point. Being part of a commune and expropriating the property of the capitalist are two different things.

[RadioFreeWisconsin]

So you admit that you want to expropriate the property of the Capitalist, through force if necessary? How would you define a Capitalist?

[buddhagem]

@Radio, if you'd like to formulate a specific question for me to answer, simply pm me and I'll answer it in a video. As to capitalist property, it's not really necessary to take anything from them; it's not like they actually use the land, the resources, the technology and machinery that they own. A capitalist would be someone who primarily obtains their wealth through non-labor forms of income: usury, rent, profits, mineral royalties and the like.

[RadioFreeWisconsin]

If I had something that others wanted to use, wouldn't it be good idea to rent it? Isn't it better that I rent it out, then keep it all for myself? If someone owns a car a decides to rent it out, it can be taken from him, but if he dousn't it can't? Everyone benefits by him renting his car! This is completely arbitrary! What if a "Capitalist" did use his factory himself, as a home of sorts? This is what I was trying to explain in my blog.

[buddhagem]

You show me a capitalist that actually uses the equipment, factories etc that he or she owns and I will be very impressed. Not sure what your point about renting was but I understand it's hard to express things in 500 characters. Send me a link to your blog when you get a chance. Happy New Year

[RadioFreeWisconsin]

If someone owns something and they agree to rent it, then everyone benefits. If they hoard it, then no one benefits. Allowing someone to rent something and make a profit provides incentive to share it with the world. I don't believe people should have to "prove" that they actually can use what they own, that is tyrany. I have read Beevor's book, I actually provide specific page numbers! Maybye it is YOU who needs to read it again.

[buddhagem]

You do provide page numbers, I suppose anybody could do that, but in those passages he actually contradicts your position again and again as I pointed out in the comment to your blog which you have blocked I guess. As to "everyone" benefiting from things being rented that's just absurd.

[RadioFreeWisconsin]

No he dousn't, your just making shit up. Go read it again. Please tell me, if I rent my car out to someone, WHO in the world is harmed? Both parties benefit, both parties gain. What's with this irrational hatred of profits? I always approve all the comments on my blog, so either your lying or I'm lying.

[Ilikenuman]

@RadioFreeWisconsin i wouldnt force anyone to join a commune, i just think eventually people would choose to because of the benefits, but if im wrong. nobody gets hurt.

[mondohartford]

paris commune? well what happened to it? oh the elites came back re-incarnated into the new democracy

[Gloomshadow1]

Democracies are the worst form of Government, they have proven to be failures going all the way back to Athens. Ha ha they usually elected Dictators in order to get anything done. The Democracies are nothing more than a sexual fantasy of the "lesser man" who suffers penis envy of the "greater man". Look deep into the heart of the intellectual or scholar and youll find nothing more than a weak man craving sexual power over women that he cannot gain by natural means of sexual charm. Like,Buddajem.

[Charles0in0charge]

@Gloomshadow1 Small and efficient democracies are quite effective actually. If you know communism and anarchy, we strive to centralize power to the community of workers and decentralize a coercive state leviathan.

[Gloomshadow1]

but they cant provide protection from outside attack or interferrence...you have to have an industrial base and central command to prevent invasion from outside..history proves this...

[Charles0in0charge]

yes history is on your side, but you forget what such centralized command do to hold power. As Rousseau would say, "Force does not constitute right."

[Gloomshadow1]

"right and wrong" are mythic, almost religious concepts that do not exist in nature..Ive outgrown such fairy tales. all that matters is the struggle for survival in nature, in other words "dog eat dog"..life itself is to deny life to something else..so life itself is "wrong"..everything imposes on something else..even inanimate objects screw each other over by occupying space that another object COULD occupy...but doesnt! So take the plunge! Embrace POWER and compete against others with gusto!

[Charles0in0charge]

Right as in one natural obligation for self preservation. I see someones a Hobbs fan... Through you might deem this off topic, there is evolutionary studies done showing that cooperative living is more favorable for a species survival then competition. There is countless examples of symbiosis in the world, but yet humans deem ourselves more civil with such competitive valor? Leave the competing in the sport fields n arenas.

[Gloomshadow1]

ha ha..evolutionary studies done by who?..Ivy League Professors? lol.. I came up in Boston, thoses guys dont impress me. Those guys are so politically motivated it isnt funny..theyve even destroyed science, of all things. Please dont bing up "education" to me ok? Biggest swindle in History. Stratification is the Law of nature not co operation..snap out of it!

[Gloomshadow1]

"Rights" are another religious fabrication..ppl dont have "rights" they only have capacity or incapacity.

[Gloomshadow1]

LOL..These forms of Government are weak, they cannot provide protection from outside attack, a Theocracy, Republic or whatever could come in and crush this type of government, hell a Kingdom or a minor Warlord could make mincemeat out of a civilization like that! LOL keep dreaming!

[hal970fx]

war is piece etc.

[Gloomshadow1]

???..

[chris3325]

In the beginning he talks about how the anarchist revolution/society in spain was smashed by force. almost as if thats an argument against the state and an argument for anarchy. I completely disagree. I see it as an argument against the practical application of anarchy. Because the anarchist might be right (hypothetically) but if you cant make it happen then why suggest it as a viable alternative to the state?

[eragon2121]

Well, suggesting new ideas is the only way to get them to happen eventually and convince people even if they are unlikely. Not that I'm an anarchist. Just playing devil's advocate.

[chris3325]

True. But the problem ive encountered with a lot of anarchists is this complete unwillingness to adapt their ideas to work within the existing world. Its either all or nothing and i think thats a bad idea.

[eragon2121]

I hear you, that's the same problem I have with a lot of them.

[Gloomshadow1]

Anarchy is just a codeword for Communism..notice how they romanticise peasant life but they themselves have never been peasants! Chomsky cant be a "peasant" hes too arrogant! They want everyone ELSE to be peasants and they picture themselves as the "wise leaders" HA HA then the Communist country becomes everything it claims it be against! Like the Soviets, they were city people with a class system and money, corruption polluiton! LOL they are all liars and freaks!

[oldhacks]

the swiss are the greatest example of how to obtain and maitain a democracy. its pretty simple.

you riot for the simple demand to have the right to propose and vote on laws yourself as a citizen and you dont let up until the government caves in. then once you have it you pass on a tradition of carrying guns as citizens against any threat of your democracy and voting as often as you can on everything you feel compelled to vote on. or propose laws if you're inspired by a change in society.

[Gloomshadow1]

If it cannot exist in reality then it is not "Right" as you put it. Dont let your artificial "morality" get in the way of your true sight. Youre a crafty man, Chirs3325. Just be careful of adopting the moral viewpoints of others. Most people just accpet the moral value systems they are given by people the are told to listen to for some reason or another. ONLY listen to your instincts never to the words of "high minded" scholars, time always proves them to be less than maggots!

[Gloomshadow1]

When I look at Chomsky, I just see an old 'poon-hound" trying to pick up young and naive collage coeds! LOL Hes the little weasle guy from the 60s who demonstrated in the womens rights movements and took on effeminate qualities in hopes of getting laid, in other words a "hoe-man"! He couldnt play with the "guys" so he became a wise old "gal" in order to find his place in the sexual arena. You know the type! The truth always can be found below the belt, it always boils down to "sex"! ha ha

[josealonsoleon]

Great video, thanks for making and posting it.

[DixyHair]

Good examples, though I think it only shows that socialism can work on small scales. On large scales however is where the Economic Calculation Problem comes in; moreover, large groups aren't as personal as small ones, thus lending themselves to internal division & takeover by demagogues.

I should note though that one thing going for your case empirically is that almost every example of 'true' democracy has been quite a success, & it's the RATIO of success vs. failure that counts.

[buddhagem]

Spain wasn't a small example. We had upwards of 10 million people participating over a wide scale from agriculture to manufacturing.

In a dynamic, democratic society the threat of a demagogue is virtually zero. What use would such a person be in a society that saw everyone as equals? Where people all had a say in things? Demagogues rise up in the most undemocratic ways in the most undemocratic of societies. That's not a coincidence.

Thanks for the comments.

[DixyHair]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't Spain basically a large network of many smaller communal organizations, thus making it closer to mutualism? And I can agree about culture.

Though, I take it you have an in-depth examination of the Russian Revolution & why it wasn't democratic coming up.

Also, if you don't plan on it already, you might want to make a video addressing the claim that we're biologically hard-wired for hierarchy, which is a basic tenet of modern anthropology.

[DixyHair]

Speaking of which, you might want to bring up the Stanford Prison Experiment, as well as research in Neuroeconomics which shows that cooperation supercharges the pleasure centers of the brain. That would be very interesting.

[Gloomshadow1]

What are you calling "Democracy"?? Because all democracies have failed! They all got upgraded to Republics or Dictatorships. I cant figure out what youre talking about with all this "success" you mention...what "success"??

[theracemixer]

Bravo my son :)

[p410berry]

Libertarian, Bhudda, keep opening eyes... blow the whole smoke screen away so the people can see the extent to which they've been had.

[CincinnatusSPQR]

Brilliant video.

[TheLeftLibertarian]

Thanks for the upload, Buddagem. Ive just completed a video showing that Anarchism can work even in the classroom. Democratic Schooling has all the features of a Left-Libertarian society but on a micro scale.

[fps0chris]

you mean the school where one doesnt learn anything of value?

[Tsukae]

lol

[Kingucktoad]

god he looks young

[CaptainFrantic]

Excellent video Buddhagem. I've realised though that what you call democracy, I call anarchy. I suspect that you will agree with this point wholeheartedly. I admire your inspired effort in these videos to reclaim the concept of "true" democracy, however, the public perception that democracy = voting for Coke or Pepsi can almost be considered a nigh on impossible task. I finally get totally what *you* mean by democracy now and I fully agree and endorse it in all but it's name. Peace bro.

[ZullGostnu2]

The pairs commune failed because they ran out of food. They were surrounded and blocked.  Cut off from the land, they had no choice and failed.

[yadsik]

The point is the organization of the people, and the fact that they created a social-libertarian state/dictatorship of the proletariat, which functioned effectively for months. The fact that they were cut off from the land is, in my opinion, irrelevant from the fact that the 'association' was successful. Not only is this association more ethical, it is also more efficient in terms of production.

[okayillgonow]

In other words, they got FUBAR'd