Thoughts on democracy
Nothing controversial, I think
Kinda heavy content. But with resolute optimism.
quoting
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John Maynard Keynes
Politicians are assholes
That hasn’t changed in 5,000 years
It’s objectively true that Julian Assange was persecuted by multiple democratic governments
https://thedissenter.org/inside-the-assange-plea-deal-why-the-us-government-abruptly-ended-the-case/
The difference between democracy and not democracy is tens of thousands of Julian Assanges (Iran) and hundreds of thousands of Julian Assanges (Syria, North Korea)
The difference is a full stop
Someone challenged a human rights activist and former Venezuelan political prisoner to support freedom over shilling for democracy
Placing democracy and freedom in opposition can make perfect sense to someone who is living in a liberal democracy
It does not make any sense for someone who is living in Iran, Venezuela or North Korea
At this moment in time there are several hundred thousand people being forced to work in online scam centres generating tens of $ billions of revenue for organized crime
To gain freedom they must risk their lives to escape or their families pay a ransom
They are tortured if they don’t meet targets
These centres are mainly located in Cambodia and Myanmar
They are in Cambodia because Cambodia is a one-party state
The Cambodian police, judiciary and government have been bought
And they are in Myanmar where regional military fiefdoms are financed by organized crime
https://bangkok.ohchr.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/ONLINE-SCAM-OPERATIONS-2582023.pdf
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/12/17/world/asia/myanmar-cyber-scam.html
Spreading liberal democracy reduces human trafficking
Spreading liberal democracy increases freedom of speech
In as far as human rights activists work with objective facts and the most oppressed peoples in the world, they will work to spread democracy
Expecting anything else is unrealistic
Presenting it as a choice will only go one way
But it needn’t be a choice as we’re all on the same side
It’s in the interest of governments to split people into sides and get them to fight on Twitter
The self-sovereign tech movement is interesting as it cuts across all political contexts
It helps people in the most oppressed parts of the world as well as the freest
It’s an escape hatch and a home for some of the nicest people on the planet
It has the shape of the future
But it didn’t free Julian Assange
And it doesn’t solve the problem of the thousands of Julian Assanges in Iran
It didn’t transition Taiwan from the white terror to an open society
Although it may help in all those things
Human progress toward freedom is slow and faltering
It is also inexorable
That is our history
The tide will wash away the “Supreme Leaders” and the slavers and their mad dreams
And ultimately all governments
“Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time…”
Winston Churchill
