Dangers of Democracy

Sdílet
Vložit
  • čas přidán 5. 02. 2023
  • In this video, Adam breaks down a few of the major issues that beset democracies. The aim is not to condemn democracy as a form of governance, but to critique it such that we may be better informed of its imperfections.
    This video is based off of an article that can be found on our website here:
    thinkingwest.com/2022/10/05/d...
    ABOUT THE CHANNEL
    ThinkingWest: Great Books Explored revives the “Great Conversation” in our digital age through exploring the great books of the western world. We dive deep into the most influential books of all time, read short essays and letters from the greatest thinkers, and discuss timeless ideas that continue to shape our culture today.
    ABOUT THINKINGWEST
    ThinkingWest aims to revive the “Great Conversation” in our digital age through promoting the study of the great books of the western world, classical approaches to education, and through thoughtful commentary on current events, history, philosophy, culture, education, and religion.
    RECOMMENDED BOOKS
    How to Read a Book, Mortimer Adler and Charles van Doren: amzn.to/3NOLCrm
    How to Read and Why, Harold Bloom: amzn.to/3J69V0y
    The Well-Educated Mind, Susan Wise Bauer: amzn.to/3LB5Djq
    LINKS
    Website: thinkingwest.com/
    Donate to support this work: thinkingwest.com/donate/
    Classic book lists: thinkingwest.com/book-lists/
    Music Credit:
    Serena (Longer Version) by Spheriá | / spheriamusic
    Music promoted by www.chosic.com/free-music/all/
    Creative Commons CC BY-SA 3.0
    #democracy #politics #history #government #usa

Komentáře • 76

  • @N.Z67
    @N.Z67 Před rokem +16

    It’s eerie how much this sounds, point by point, like a description of the state of Western politics today. I don’t know if I should be sad or happy that I enjoyed this critique so much.

    • @ThinkingWest
      @ThinkingWest  Před rokem +3

      Thank you. We can only fix the issues plaguing western politics until after we first understand them. Highlighting some of these often unspoken issues was my goal in this video.

  • @jakelm4256
    @jakelm4256 Před rokem +9

    Highly recommend Democracy: The God that Failed by Hoppe which outlines brilliantly the fatal flaws of democracy that can never be eluded.

  • @justlol7281
    @justlol7281 Před rokem +23

    “Democracy is cringe, read some Aristotle.”
    - John Doyle, Based King

    • @alwaysgreatusa223
      @alwaysgreatusa223 Před 11 měsíci

      Somehow, I am thinking Aristotle wanted to be in the ruling class, and not the ruled-over class.

  • @ecthelion1735
    @ecthelion1735 Před rokem +7

    Thank you for discussing this. The prevailing democratic orthodoxy is based on a lot of falsehoods and false assumptions.

  • @papazeus2807
    @papazeus2807 Před rokem +6

    Excellent critique.

  • @UnwokeThoughts
    @UnwokeThoughts Před 2 měsíci

    Great video. Love you stuff

  • @dc-wp8oc
    @dc-wp8oc Před 6 měsíci +2

    This video should be played in every classroom in every State funded school.
    Churchill was the consummate politician. A warmonger who was trying to preserve Britain's colonial power.

    • @ThinkingWest
      @ThinkingWest  Před 5 měsíci

      Doubtful the state funded schools would allow this kind of video.

    • @dc-wp8oc
      @dc-wp8oc Před 5 měsíci

      @@ThinkingWest Wanted to add that the soundtrack is unnecessary and only annoys.

    • @novinceinhosic3531
      @novinceinhosic3531 Před 4 dny

      ​@@ThinkingWestno, but state-funded university are, specially with liberal professor

  • @alwaysgreatusa223
    @alwaysgreatusa223 Před 11 měsíci +1

    Imagine a politician that did not have to answer to the voters. Do you really believe he would use his time and energy to benefit you -- or HIMSELF ?

  • @philopolymath
    @philopolymath Před 5 měsíci

    Hey yes, I remember this from Grade 5 social studies class. Good luck next year Son.

  • @will7its
    @will7its Před rokem +1

    I just subscribed, We should probably start looking over our shoulders.....

  • @walkabout16
    @walkabout16 Před 7 měsíci +2

    In the realm of Thought, where ThinkingWest does reside,
    Adam's voice emerges, a critical guide.
    Democracy's dance, he dissects with care,
    Revealing its flaws, its burdens to bear.
    Dangers of democracy, he lays bare,
    Not to condemn, but to scrutinize and stare.
    A symphony of voices, a cacophony untamed,
    In the land of the free, where ideas are named.
    Might it be a plutocracy, a question in the air,
    Where wealth and influence play a perilous affair?
    ThinkingWest ponders, as the truth unfolds,
    In the corridors of power, where stories are told.
    The ballot, a sword, but not all voices heard,
    Power can be concentrated, a dangerous word.
    A plutocracy whispers in the halls of might,
    Where the privileged few wield undue might.
    Yet, Adam's aim is not to shatter dreams,
    But to awaken minds from complacent streams.
    Democracy, flawed and imperfect, he declares,
    Yet a system that, with vigilance, repairs.
    So let us heed the warning, the critical call,
    In the face of democracy, may we stand tall.
    ThinkingWest guides us through the perilous sea,
    Dangers of democracy, a lesson set free.

    • @ThinkingWest
      @ThinkingWest  Před 7 měsíci +1

      😂😂😂 beautiful my friend 🙏

  • @marcusmoonstein242
    @marcusmoonstein242 Před rokem +1

    Tytler didn't articulate a very important point in his thesis, he only implied it. He says that voters in a democracy will constantly vote for politicians who promise them government largess, and that this leads to runaway government spending.
    The critical point he leaves out is that politicians will always promise that the proposed largess will NOT need to be funded by the voters themselves. The politicians always promise that the new entitlements will somehow be paid for by taxing corporations, "the rich", or some other third party. The current fascination with Modern Monetary Theory is just the latest iteration of this cost-shifting principle.
    The easiest way to remove the temptation to vote for these politicians is to have a flat-rate tax system, and to require any politician proposing an increase in government expenditure to also indicate how much everyone's taxes would need to be increased to pay for it. If everybody had to contribute to the cost of a new program it would give people pause about supporting it. It's a fantasy that this will ever happen, but still ...

  • @Metratch
    @Metratch Před rokem

    music of the video pls

  • @alwaysgreatusa223
    @alwaysgreatusa223 Před 11 měsíci +1

    Democracy does not divide its citizens, they are already divided because they are individuals with their own thoughts, feeling and opinions -- just like you !

  • @ted1045
    @ted1045 Před rokem +2

    Tytler's description sounds a great deal like the pride cycle.

  • @alwaysgreatusa223
    @alwaysgreatusa223 Před 11 měsíci

    Money spent on campaigns do not magically disappear into thin air. Like all money, it is used in one form or another for the profits of businesses, and the wages of those businesses' employees. In other words, it is returned into the economy.

  • @alwaysgreatusa223
    @alwaysgreatusa223 Před 11 měsíci +1

    There is apparently no political adversity in North Korea -- they all 'love' the Great Leader.
    Is this really what you want ?

  • @TheGringoSalado
    @TheGringoSalado Před 2 měsíci

    A central currency printing (inflationary thief) bank gives too much power at the top, creating the “Political Industry.”

  • @TabooRevolution13
    @TabooRevolution13 Před 7 měsíci

    Today we have a Noocracy occupied by the Idiocracy! Much like the movie Idiocracy I am sadly the the World's smartest man! The majority are oblivious of their own vote... distracted with their national leaders who want to retain their power in the face of the fact that they would by majority prefer a leader determined by their intelligence rather than determined by popular vote! This means all your elections Worldwide are now irrelevant and instead you all trying to figure out who the smartest person so they can eventually take my place as the Noocracy Representative! Rule by the smartest is called a "Noocracy Republic!"

  • @williamleadbetter9686

    Before covid china had 4 times the debt to gdp ratio of the us and its only gotten worse in both countries

  • @Metratch
    @Metratch Před rokem

    0:30 song? pls

    • @ThinkingWest
      @ThinkingWest  Před rokem +1

      Serena (Longer Version) by Spheriá | soundcloud.com/spheriamusic
      Realized I forgot to put this in the description. Will update that now.

    • @Metratch
      @Metratch Před rokem

      @@ThinkingWest thx a whole lot!

  • @alwaysgreatusa223
    @alwaysgreatusa223 Před 11 měsíci

    Benefits for the citizens ? Where do you think this money would otherwise go ? If you said, that money will be kept in the accounts of the RICH & POWERFUL elitists, then BINGO !
    CONGRATULATIONS, you are 100 % correct !

  • @alwaysgreatusa223
    @alwaysgreatusa223 Před 11 měsíci

    Only a child, or child-like person, wants to be ruled by someone else !

  • @bicelisGeopolitics
    @bicelisGeopolitics Před rokem

    min 7:56 democracies fall. 200 years. cycle.

  • @alwaysgreatusa223
    @alwaysgreatusa223 Před 11 měsíci

    Almost certainly, Aristotle, Tyler and Durant would think they deserved to be part of the Ruling Class who should rule over you !

    • @Quekksilber
      @Quekksilber Před 27 dny

      I would be fine with Aristotle ruling over me.

    • @alwaysgreatusa223
      @alwaysgreatusa223 Před 27 dny

      @@Quekksilber Some people are just born to follow. But more likely than being ruled by Aristotle, Alexander would be your Emperor, and you would be his sacrificial lamb at the front-line of his expanding empire of wealth & power.

    • @Quekksilber
      @Quekksilber Před 27 dny

      @@alwaysgreatusa223 Nice assumption made. Armies where much smaller than they are now, so no, I most likely wouldn't.

    • @alwaysgreatusa223
      @alwaysgreatusa223 Před 27 dny

      @@Quekksilber Yes, but you are living now, and there are no philosopher-kings. So, you are more likely to be ruled by a dictator like Putin, Xi, or Kim.

    • @alwaysgreatusa223
      @alwaysgreatusa223 Před 27 dny

      @@Quekksilber Anyway, the larger point here is that neither in ancient Greece nor now in the modern world is the possibility of being ruled by an all-wise philosopher-king a realistic ideal. Ambitious and ruthless men, with no scruples in their unbridled desire for seeking power, are those most likely to attain it, when they are freed from the restraints of democracy. They are not philosophers, these men, they are tyrants and dictators who only care about their own wealth and power, and you will simply be their expendable pawn.

  • @johnmanole4779
    @johnmanole4779 Před 11 měsíci

    Which countries are the richest? Totalitarian N. KOREA, China, Iran etc

  • @AceTac
    @AceTac Před 11 měsíci +1

    Democracy is great, but small attacks can completely cripple stability in country- my main problem is that governments are too scared to make harsh choice for the better of their country at risk of their office being lost

    • @ThinkingWest
      @ThinkingWest  Před 11 měsíci +1

      Yes, politicians in democracies tend to favor short term, people pleasing solutions so they don't lessen their chances of re-election. This makes correcting course very difficult once a nation embarks upon the path of wealth redistribution and government handouts.

  • @alwaysgreatusa223
    @alwaysgreatusa223 Před 11 měsíci

    1. Democracy is only as Noble and Reasonable as its voting citizens.
    But who should decide what is 'Noble' and 'Reasonable' in any society ? You ? So, you would give yourself the right to decide, but deny this right to others ?
    Do you really believe that you are more noble and reasonable than your neighbors ? Yes ? Well, the fact is they think they are more noble and reasonable than you !

  • @eliasmontanez
    @eliasmontanez Před 6 měsíci +2

    This video, like most other “critiques of democracy” on the internet, doesn’t really criticize democracy. It criticizes republicanism (representative democracy), which is only a type of democracy (and probably the worst type of democracy, since it still concentrates political power in the hands of a small group of people at the top instead of redistributing it among the people). The problems it addresses are a consequence of republicanism, not democracy.

  • @candide1065
    @candide1065 Před 10 měsíci

    Don't know why CZcams recommended this to me all of a sudden but the video is intersting and I like the statistics.
    Sadly, your conclusion that all systems are flawed and democracy is still among the better and your politically correct and complient defense of the system you rightfully criticized destroys the whole point of the video and makes you come across as yet another NPC who ostensibly critizised something but finally - as always - sticks to "consens over truth" and doesn't offer much of a solution or anything besides: "yeah it's not that good but well...".
    Always standing in the middle and trying really hard not to fall out of the overton window isn't nearly as smart as it looks and defending something you criticized before definitely doesn't help you convincing people.

    • @ThinkingWest
      @ThinkingWest  Před 4 měsíci

      I understand the criticism, but I don't pretend to have a political solution. I don't think any political system is perfect. What's more important than the particular political system, in my opinion, is the character of the people and rulers - something very hard to improve.

    • @stinger7799
      @stinger7799 Před měsícem

      ​@ThinkingWest when 80% of the population has been dumbed down how can its votes matter

  • @alwaysgreatusa223
    @alwaysgreatusa223 Před 11 měsíci

    2. Democracy makes neighbors political adversaries and makes all issues political. BULLSHIT !
    Neighbors under every form of government have differing political opinions, the difference is whether or not they are free to express their opinions. All issues that deal with how a society conducts itself and what obligations and rights citizens should have (think of the pro-life, right to choose issue) are political by their very nature -- regardless of the form of government. The difference is who gets to decide. An elite class of Overlords ? The Party ? Maybe, not your party !

  • @BlockIce84
    @BlockIce84 Před rokem +1

    So, every system has its down and up. Democracy is stable and works well with commerce.

    • @ThinkingWest
      @ThinkingWest  Před rokem

      It's certainly one of the better systems we've come up with

    • @bb3ll07
      @bb3ll07 Před rokem +2

      How? The poverty rate in America is getting higher in Democrat states
      Have you not seen skid row? 😢 people love being poor because the government helps them! That’s not okay when working class people taxes pay for it 😢

  • @benjohnson3349
    @benjohnson3349 Před měsícem

    The United States is not a democracy. It is a constitutional republic. You do make some good points. In your explanation, you have confused two forms of governance and mixed faults of democracy and faults of a representative public together.

    • @novinceinhosic3531
      @novinceinhosic3531 Před 4 dny

      Res publica means public affair
      Demos katos means people's power
      You kinda get the link, otherwise republic means anything that's not a monarchy.

    • @TheVistula
      @TheVistula Před 12 hodinami +1

      Seems like You don't know meaning of terms ,,democracy" and ,,republic".
      ,,Republic" means ,,representative DEMOCRACY".

  • @salloomha
    @salloomha Před rokem +1

    It’s so saddening and sorrowful to listen to such a young voice spitting so much ignorance and elitism.

    • @ThinkingWest
      @ThinkingWest  Před rokem +5

      Hi Salloomha, what do you mean by elitism? I am not sure why it's sad or disheartening to take a step back and think about potential drawbacks of our system of governance.

    • @salloomha
      @salloomha Před rokem

      @@ThinkingWest
      Your usage of the terms “Rule of The Mob” which has fascist and elitist roots and is most certainly unacademic as that word means mobocracy or ochlocracy which are fundamentally different and contradictory with democracy.
      Your “critique” talks about the disadvantages of ignorance, which is caused by propaganda and capitalism and directed again by the same propaganda which had helped in its shaping.
      America’s democracy is broken because of the corporate capitalism of the government and the intended ignorance of the people (not the “masses” as you call them as if you’re some sort of a feudal lord or something) which is helpful for America’s state capitalism to work. Democracy as a system isn’t “dangerous”, it’s just that your country *kinda* sucks.

    • @hristo_dmtv
      @hristo_dmtv Před rokem +6

      Classic case for a person who didn’t watch the full video and decided to engage in a fully reactionary way.
      The person who made this video isn’t advocating for another political system (like autocracy and totalitarianism) as a “solution” for the drawbacks of democracy. But of course the first thing your brain thought of is that they are anti-democracy.
      They are not.
      They are pointing out that the system isn’t perfect (which is totally valid) and that there are ways to improve it (like, further educating the public).
      .
      Stop sucking the status quo off and engage in some critical thinking.

    • @salloomha
      @salloomha Před rokem +1

      @@hristo_dmtv
      I watched the whole video, and his arguments advocate for more centralised power even if in the end he sugarcoats with sth else.

    • @VamsiVaranasiKrishna
      @VamsiVaranasiKrishna Před rokem +1

      @@ThinkingWest You'll learn soon enough to ignore the comments :)