[FUPQ-03] Beware the one-party state
Day 3,664, 14:06
•
Published in USA 
•
by
•
by Pfenix Quinn
The Free University of Phoenix Quinn is a service of the Socialist Freedom Party, an open and welcoming internationalist anarko-syndicalist collective and mutual aid society based in e-USA
This is Lecture Number 3 of a 20-part series on Combating Tyranny. It's loosely based on Timothy Snyder's nifty little book ON TYRANNY, adapted to our New World context. The lecturer is R.F. Williams, a minor nogoodnik from nowhere who claims to be working in the spiritual tradition of that somewhat jaded guru of yore, Phoenix Quinn.
Beware the one-party state.
Parties that suppress all their rivals are not omnipresent from the start. They exploit a historic moment to make political e-life impossible for their opponents.
Defenders of democracy often tend to think that vigilance primarily means looking out for threats that come from abroad. But in fact the nature of players is such that democracy must often be defended from fellow citizens who would exploit freedom to bring about its end. As the abolitionist Wendell Phillips said, "The manna of popular liberty must be gathered each day or it is rotten."
Democracies collapse when a single party seizes power in some combination of election and coup. Once in power via elections, an authoritarian or totalitarian party may try to change the rules in its favor in order to ice out any others. Spectacle, repression and salami -- slicing off layers of opposition one by one -- are employed.
You don't know, when you make love for the last time, that you are making love for the last time. Voting is like that. Any election can be the last one, or the last meaningful one. Particularly nasty tyrants will even promote a foreign policy designed to destroy democratic society elsewhere once they've brought on the clampdown at home.
Oligarchy, particularly plutocracy (rule by the rich) and kleptocracy (more or less, rule by the mafia), tends to result when there are increasing differences in wealth. If giving money to political parties is "free speech", then the rich become "freer" than others. And if the rich have an unfair advantage in holding onto the reigns of power, then they are likely to implement increasingly unfair and undemocratic policies.
Where meaningful elections end, tyranny begins.
At the conclusion of the lecture series, amazingly cool honorary certificates and degrees will be issued by Brother Williams based on responses provided in the comment sections of each lecture. Participation counts. Indicate "attendance" by leaving a brief comment below or endorsing the article. Higher degrees will be awarded in accordance with the degree of critical thinking, mindfulness and humor exhibited by responders.
Facebook
Twitter
Discord
Comments
At the conclusion of the lecture series, amazingly cool honorary certificates and degrees will be issued by Brother Williams based on responses provided in the comment sections of each lecture. Participation counts. Indicate "attendance" by leaving a brief comment below or endorsing the article. Higher degrees will be awarded in accordance with the degree of critical thinking, mindfulness and humor exhibited by responders.
I have been active in many elections (some times even as a candidate). As an anarchist I don't believe we can change much with elections, but it is the better of minor choices. We need opposition, we need discussion and we need engagement. The more active the better. 🙂
Healthy opposition preferably. Reckless and ignorant opposition is tedious and boring.
Voted, good read. All opposition is great, it makes us take sides and make decisions (for better or worse)
RF William continues to impersonate the late Phoenix Quinn, very very sad. Trafficking in lies. Let's face it, you should be selling pencils from a cup...
Flunked again, Trumpskillian. Not sure you understand how this works?
Choices, like happiness, are often traded for security.
V!!
very good article!
o7
This is something that is pretty dear to me, as I've spent some time phone banking and trying to prevent the iniquity from Super PAC like ads paid for by companies thanks to Citizens United. I can't really view it philosophically, but I do know that there is a general tendency for power to manifest at the top until it is shaken up. This is why vigilance must be kept always, because even though we may have vigilance there will be successes in centralizing power. It is up to us at that point to prevent it from slipping out of our control.
Also, am I allowed to do make up work for lecture 2?
Yes, make-up work is definitely permitted.
Not sure if this is about real life or in game. Sad either way.
Why sad?
It seems a remarkably concise and accurate assessment on both. Concentrations of power are as inevitable as they are bad for you.
As long as nogoodnicks continue to question authority we can all remain free to question authority.
"Sell not virtue to purchase wealth, nor Liberty to purchase power." - B. Franklin
"I don't actually subscribe to the view that all power corrupts. But absolute power - when secured on the back of massive parliamentary majorities, which don't reflect the balance of political opinion in the country - can corrupt absolutely." - Charles Kennedy
This also reminds me of this: "39 We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion." - Doctrine and Covenants 121
In other words, it is apparently human nature for those in power to crave more power, and for those with wealth to crave more wealth, no matter how little either is needed; however, it is the responsibility of the masses not to hand over responsibility for their own freedom to those who would rule over them.
It is also human nature for someone with millions in public funds in their pocket to appropriate some if not all of those funds.
St Harambe himself would be tempted...
But let’s not forget Harambe’s teaching on greed. He gave his life in order to save us.
Blasphemy
Heretic
china is doing quite well
Interesting note.
Not entirely sure if this is directly related to points made in the article (will assume yes), and will assume this is in reference to real life? If so, then true enough in many ways (based on what I think I know). At the same time, income inequality in PRC is very high. ( http://www.pnas.org/content/111/19/6928.full ) Will be interesting to see how things develop over the coming years... if it continues to worsen, that would be a sign of increasing plutocracy.
My impression (from a distance) is that enough dissent is permitted at local levels, so that local corrupt officials can be removed as needed if enough people protest. That provides enough of a safety valve, such that many people are satisfied with stability over lack of a broader democratic participation centrally?
looks like a nice research, i just dont have enough time to read it now (just like i didnt really read this article, sry xD)
that gap is not exclusively chinese problem, tho i believe its due to enormous economic expansion china experiences over the past few decades. but then when you look at the growing middle class it certainly looks like economic situation is getting better for more and more people in china. anyway, this is not some sort of deep analysis, or opinion based on my own experience. never been there, but my neighbour elected to work in beijing as a civil engineer and not anywhere europe xD
O7
As an example in my home state one of the two big parties spent copious amounts of money to block the Libertarian party (and even the Green Party but the attack was focused on LP) from getting ballot access. They fear other choices being presented to the people in a age where there is little difference between the other two choices.