this post was submitted on 15 Dec 2023
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Democracy tends toward corruption as any concentration of power will.
Yeah so we have a robust system of checks and balances, strong regulation and systemic processes to discourage corruption. For example, if you are in your role due to a public election or representing a public body and you are found to have taken bribes you have to serve 20 years in prison and lose all entitlements associated with your office including pensions.
Except it mostly doesn't work. For every corrupt official going to prison you have 10 getting away with it.
This isn't a reality, I'm saying the system could work if.
Ah ok. I would've agreed with you not too long ago.
I've since become convinced that any concentration of power will attract exactly the type that should not wield it and therefore a society that wants to maximize things like freedom and minimize things like needless suffering should strive to build a society where power is not needed. I realize this would take time and could not come from violent revolution, but instead cultural change over a generation or two. In the meantime, democracy, imperfect as it is, with checks and balances can help keep things stable enough for cultural change to occur in this world.
What is power used for except to coerce people to do your bidding instead of their own? I want to clarify that capability for self-defense/community- defense I don't consider power.