Democracy

This was excellent in that it confirms everyone’s suspicions about who holds power within an organization. Thanks to Jim Ostrowski for this one. The topic is titled, “The Iron Law of Oligarchy.” Back in 2010 and 2011, I recommended to a student that he watch this video on the 5 different kinds of government, one of which was an oligarchy. And I thought then all democratic societies are run by oligarchies, and that its acolytes that we know as Social Justice Warriors truly believe that they have a seat at the table. Maybe 1 or 2 do, which amounts to, what, maybe 1% or less? A number of school teachers, who are close to power, who are on the receiving end of a greater share of the tax base compared to all other working residents, actually believed that they were the key members of this elite; and if they weren’t, then they were dead set on becoming one.

This is stunningly frank, and it reminds me of Ludwig von Mises’ Bureaucracy:

According to Michels all organizations eventually come to be run by a “leadership class”, who often function as paid administrators, executives, spokespersons or political strategists for the organization. Far from being “servants of the masses”, Michels argues this “leadership class,” rather than the organization’s membership, will inevitably grow to dominate the organization’s power structures. By controlling who has access to information, those in power can centralize their power successfully, often with little accountability, due to the apathy, indifference and non-participation most rank and file members have in relation to their organization’s decision-making processes. Michels argues that democratic attempts to hold leadership positions accountable are prone to fail, since with power comes the ability to reward loyalty, the ability to control information about the organization, and the ability to control what procedures the organization follows when making decisions. All of these mechanisms can be used to strongly influence the outcome of any decisions made ‘democratically’ by members.^[2]

Hans Hermann Hoppe, Democracy: The God That Failed, 2001.

“Why Democracy Fails,” Hans Hermann Hoppe with Jeff Deist, 2016.

[Democracy] seems particularly topical as American elites have become increasingly comfortable dropping the façade of democracy, with the Washington establishment becoming increasingly transparent in their intentions to undercut the success of populist campaigns, such as Donald Trump’s.

EQUALITY

Thanks to Charles Burris.