synops2008

FROM INDUSTRIAL FEUDALISM TO DIRECT DEMOCRACY.

Political essay written by M. J. Kuhn

SYNOPSIS and INDEX

(FOR DISTRIBUTION BY INTERNET)

This essay is mainly about the United States and its people. America is a wonderful land. I admire its beauty and diversity. When it comes to American politicians my feelings are a little less enthusiastic. Many, if not most, act as if they have been endowed with an infallible wisdom and as if the land they govern was "created" for them.

This is about a "philosophy" of a man who loves America, but finds many of its institutions obsolete and its leaders out of touch with reality. He does not comprehend why America, rich as it is, is unable to provide employment for all of its citizens, or at least for those willing to work; why it takes from those who have little and gives to those who have much. He does not understand why the Corporate America cannot do without downsizing of its "human resources." (Downsizing of both, remuneration and working time is a different matter.)

He does not comprehend why Americans allow themselves to be influenced to the point of brainwashing by advertisements of all kinds, be it medication for hemorrhoids or pre-election promises of a candidate for the presidency. Why can't they see and identify the corrupting influence of the "for hire" information media?

This last trait is dangerous not only to themselves, but because of their military strength to the rest of the world as well. At the end of World War II, the sufferings of the people affected by the war were well known to practically all peoples in Europe. Today, in the United States only the fallen American soldiers and the victims of the Jewish Holocaust are remembered. The much larger war casualties suffered by other nations and the equally large numbers of non-Jewish Holocaust victims are not even acknowledged. That kind of history is dangerous to all, because it is slanted. The reasons for the bias are chauvinistic nationalism of the media and pressures exercised by their owners and sponsors. The "free" press is really not free, it has hidden agenda of its own. One does not have to look hard to find examples of persistent media bias; the cause of suffering of the Palestinian people is one topic that was never reported even-handedly.

A well-known principle of nature tells us that action engenders reaction. In human relations this is often confrontational. Why are the American leaders so eager to "solve" internal problems of other nations without expending sufficient effort to understand the underlaying causes? United States, instead of moderating various extremist tendencies in the United Nations Organization has often chosen to confront that body head on and attempts to force it to behave according to its wishes. This is not a good policy. It betrays certain arrogance bordering on megalomania and the presence of an invisible hand belonging to special interests. The foreign aid which the United States dispenses follows in the tracks of corporate philosophy; few rich nations are helped considerably and many poor nations, who really need help are helped little, or not at all.

These topics have, of course, been discussed in the past in different, mainly foreign publications. What distinguishes this work from all the others is this author's resolve to confront the home-grown worship of "democracy" as a system that is a-priori above challenge. He finds certain fallacies even in the text known as "Declaration of Independence" which many Americans consider to be sacred. He suggests an alternate system of government, in his opinion superior to any contemporary representative democratic system; a government by direct vote of all concerned people. Such true democratic system is urgently needed because, at the present time, few of the elected politicians represent the will of the people. Many were elected with the help of special interests and feel obligated to their sponsors only.

The laissez-faire economics which was promoted by Mr Reagan is slowly turning this country into two nations; the "haves" and the "have-nots" Americas. While the standard of living is continuously improving for the "haves", it is continuously deteriorating for the "have-nots." If things are left to themselves and go uncorrected a critical point, collapse of civilized society, will soon be reached. The potential merit of this essay is to offer a schema by which the ongoing polarization of the society could be arrested and reversed.

It is only now, that thanks to rapid advances in communication technology, a new system of government became possible. In such a non-representative system there is no need for elected officials; it can function very smoothly on its own with only a modest contingent of civil servants. Implementation of laws and codes can be strictly impersonal. Each citizen will be endowed with executive, legislative and judicial powers. He will be invited to make informed decisions weighted by his understanding of the subject to be judged.

Each citizen would obtain a mass-produced portable communication device with personal identification stamp, keyboard, bar-code scanner and memory capabilities. This would allow him to make daily records of his earnings and needs. He would also make daily decisions by means of a vote on any subject that is important to him and in which he possesses sufficient competency. (A person unable to recognize a street stop sign would not be asked to participate in writing traffic laws). He would be encouraged to submit proposals to be sieved by a preliminary vote and eventually, if accepted, voted upon by a final vote.

Obviously, in such a system the Washington bureaucracy would not be needed. The White House, the House of Representatives, the Senate Buildings would serve only as museums of past wicked and irrational times. The lobbyists would equally die out since there would be no need for their services. There would be no need for Air Force I, II, or even X, since diplomacy among the advanced nations would be conducted via high resolution teleconferencing and not by means of old-fashioned and irrational burning of jet fuel.

The era of illegal narcotics would also end since every legal monetary transaction (even a simple purchase in a grocery store) would be automatically recorded, identified with purchaser and seller and therefore correlatable with every other transaction. Thus, money laundering would easily be detected by automated software. The era of political investigations would also come to a close since the permanently kept records would not be able to emulate the behavior of contemporary politicians and suffer memory lapses.

However, it is unlikely that the proposed system will, in the foreseeable future, be adopted in the United States. The technology is here, but the momentum of the contemporary political life is firmly sustained by the politicians, their sponsors, the lobbyists and the lawyers; the very people who would loose their livelihood if the suggested governing system would take effect.

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INDEX

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