Thread: New paradigm required urgently!

OK, so communism, at least as has been practiced to date, is a failure. Democracy, despite being the worst system apart from all the others blah blah, seems pretty useless as well, witness the state America is in and Europe not far behind, ruled by agression, ego ( we are the best), corruption ( completely endemic) and the closely related greed. Clearly we are a long way away from being civilised ( and lets not even bring religion into this). We need a completely different paradigm clearly but what?

Tentative suggestion. Men are not allowed to enter politics. Testosterone has a lot to answer for.

Originally Posted by Jeaunse23

Tentative suggestion. Men are not allowed to enter politics. Testosterone has a lot to answer for.

I think greed has far more of an impact on politics than testosterone.

Ban millionaires.

I can't speak for Europe, but in the U.S. the main problem seems clear: elections are bought by big money ad campaigns. Anybody is allowed to contribute as much money as they please to Political Action Committees, and these contributions are effectively anonymous. Elected officials must please these contributors first and foremost or they cannot be reelected to office or move up to a higher office. Pleasing the actual voters comes a distant second.

I frequently hear people complaining that elected officials aren't doing their jobs. Nonsense, these people are doing a great job, the people responsible for getting them elected are quite happy with their actions, else the officials wouldn't keep getting reelected. Its just that the people they answer to aren't you and me.

I keep wondering how much money China contributes to U.S. Political Action Committees.

Our civilization has inherited Hierarchy and the Monetary System social models from before the Dark ages, this is an outdated system leading to "Systemic" problems, as well as cultural artifacts such as Secrecy/Manipulation of information(from a "public" perspective) and an individualist perspective (which is ok for cavemen but fails to grasp macro phenomenon such as emergent properties, synergy, coordination and interference).

i sometimes think, that most politicians just try to harvest as many votes/ppl as possible to push their agenda with broken promises, while feeling the need to keep things in secrecy as if they think the common person isn't capable to follow a thought. that's when they get ouf touch.

Churchill on Democracy . . . .

"Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time." (from a House of Commons speech on Nov. 11, 1947)

"The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter."

Democracy, what we have now is more corrupt bribed-to-the-highest-bidder corporate-covered theater democracy.
Incidentally, random selection of qualified/scrutinized volunteers, was a mechanism used in some ancient Greek democracies (to avoid some of the problems of oligarchy and theater democracy)

The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter."

LOL, funny, it reminds me of Jay Walking with Jay Leno, when he asks (probably the most ignorant pedestrians he could possibly find) basic questions and people dont know them...
...Except, that to me this is not an argument against Democracy but an Argument FOR free and better education (and an evolution/elevation of culture).

Back in the good old days where the populace and non-pure noble blooded people knew their place as serfs and nobles ruled France,
the Encyclopedia was very controversial for the nobility was afraid that if people could learn more it would threaten the rulers position,
as the few should rule over the many (in the few's favor of course), it was in their perceived interest to keep the masses ignorant (or in the days of the Roman Empire entertained and distracted)

Imo you need to have great education (open and participatory) accessible to all the population, and have (real) democracy on a local level(to account for diversity) with coordination networks(for coordination and collaboration), and a concern for science(as a tool), as well as functionality and ethics(as guidelines).

(that's on top of an alternate economic system and non-hierarchic open and transparent organizations, as stated previously)

Take the money out of politics, impose term limits on senators. It's a start.

Originally Posted by Flick Montana

Take the money out of politics, impose term limits on senators. It's a start.

Yes sir! And mandate the length of the election campaign process, say six months max. This two-year presidential election campaign and literally billions of dollars spent is obscene.

Originally Posted by icewendigo

Democracy, what we have now is more corrupt bribed-to-the-highest-bidder corporate-covered theater democracy.
Incidentally, random selection of qualified/scrutinized volunteers, was a mechanism used in some ancient Greek democracies (to avoid some of the problems of oligarchy and theater democracy)

The highest bidder is actually bidding for a bullhorn. The bullhorn costs millions of dollars to hold. Whoever shouts loudest into that bullhorn will get their candidate elected, because most of the population judges which candidate is the right guy for the job by how many bullhorn shouts he's getting.

In a small community, you can know a lot about a person by seeing how many people like him/her. So I guess in the national scene, those bull horn shouts must look like separate and independent confirmations to a lot of people. Nevermind that most of them are all coming from the same place.

The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter."

LOL, funny, it reminds me of Jay Walking with Jay Leno, when he asks (probably the most ignorant pedestrians he could possibly find) basic questions and people dont know them...
...Except, that to me this is not an argument against Democracy but an Argument FOR free and better education (and an evolution/elevation of culture).

It would have to be so free that it doesn't even require effort. People would have to be able to learn without even doing their homework or listening in class.

The people Jay Leno is talking to should have learned the things he asks them in High School, which is free for everyone in the USA. They didn't because they were too lazy.

Come to think of it.... the reason people vote on the basis of bullhorn shouts is probably also because they're too lazy to do any real research. ..

Originally Posted by Flick Montana

Take the money out of politics, impose term limits on senators. It's a start.

So long as government enjoys virtually unlimited power to regulate and tax any business out of existence, stifle competition by selectively enforcing its rules and regulations, and is in control of a seemingly endless ocean of money that can be had by anyone with the right connections...........it will be corrupt. You can pass all the campaign finance rules you like, they will ultimately serve only to further entrench those in power.

You want clean government? Then limit the power of government. Power corrupts.

We are civilized at times but fail to agree what is best for all people in dealing with politics for those in charge seem only to be helping themselves and their friends more so than trying to help the majority of people.

the more corrupt a country is the more fixes it needs. sadly this shows that we need a global fix.