Democracy Notes 1-14-2020: Agreeing on a Definition for Democracy

With changes occurring in the world system now becoming more definitive, perhaps it is now also time to reopen the discussion (on monologue in my case - lol) on a new definition for democracy. Firstly, I propose that we acknowledge the deficiencies of the generally accepted ineffectual and outdated definitions of democracy, so as to then move on to agreeing to a new living definition that embodies the principle of oneness and equality as is best for all, as the foundation from which we might then go on to agree on some guidelines or procedures for coexisting harmoniously in the same environment, city, space, platform, galaxy or wherever.

As for the deficiencies of the ineffectual old-world definitions promoted specifically (in my view) to perpetuate the sacred hierarchical structures of power and control, look no further than the definition of democracy according to Google:

1. A system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives.

Really? I underlined the words ‘government’, ‘eligible’ and ‘representatives’ because rather than supporting the essence or spirit of democracy as an inclusive form of collective decision making, these words serve only to contradict the idea of democracy (as a collective expression of equality) by insinuating that democracy is all about government/control, eligibility/exclusivity and representation (instead of actual participation). So I suggest that we simply scrap this definition and any others like it that do not embrace self-determination, inclusiveness and participation as a matter of social responsibility in all situations, everywhere. Let us simply begin with a clean slate so to speak.

The definition that I’ve been working on for quite some time defines democracy simply as a form of collective decision making, wherein the degree of democracy expressed by the collective is equivalent to the degree by which “all” members of the collective have (or are afforded) the opportunity to participate equally in all of the decision-making processes (all of the decisions) that will eventually apply to the collective as a whole. This definition is all inclusive (with the opportunity to participate equally in all decision-making processes that apply to the collective as a whole), while also not being binding those would choose not to participate. And of course it can still be modified or improved upon - as per the essence of change that real democracy will facilitate.

In addition to agreeing on a new definition of democracy, I’ve also been considering how such a definition might be implemented, dare I say systematized so as to utilize technology (including AI) to facilitate the decision-making processes any and all collectives from the small to the big and the big to the small, so as to build a world that is best for all.

In my next post on the subject of democracy, I would like to look at how such a system might function in both small and large collectives. By the way, a “collective,” rather than being an anticapitalistic fascist mind-controlled commune dedicated to safe spaces and free stuff, is simply a group that works together.

  

Real Democracy has nothing to do with Majority Rule

There’s a saying going around, that democracy is a system of majority rule. Who the hell came up with the idea that democracy, real democracy of the people is a system of majority rule or that a people’s democracy even has anything to do with the act of ruling over the people that supposedly make up the democracy? Probably the same ones that inputted the idea that representative democracy was a democracy of, by and for the people as opposed to a democracy (only) of, by and for the representatives themselves - as its name, representative democracy clearly indicates. Really! Who was it that decided that real democracy (of the people) would be defined as the majority (at least 50+ percent of the people ruling over over the remainder of the people? Probably those same ones that pushed the idea that  Earth’s resources given freely unto all could be owned and controlled by a few leaving the majority to compete, argue, fight, kill and die just to survive and sometimes thrive at the expense of others.  Human consciousness has been built on beliefs fortified with hypocrisy, oxymorons and outright denial of the contradictions  presented before us in the words we use, the sentences with which we combine and  are then sentenced by.

OK, without getting too philosophical here (which I do like to do because philosophy doesn’t actually require the solving of any problems, it’s just fun to do, kind of like daydreaming), I know as a knowing that the idea that democracy “of the people” having anything whatsoever to do with rule by the majority or rule by anyone over the people for which the democracy is applied is ridiculous and verifiable invalid. That being said, if 51% isn’t enough to establish realistically the rules for the people of the democracy, then what is or what should be the the rule for establishing rules within the democracy?

If the democracy of life, as the “natural” outflow of what is created (as the aggregate sum total of the participation of all) is how we create all that is here, then why do we even need a system at all? I mean, if  the democracy of life, the essence of the democracy of creation is already handling the mathematics of the flow of creation, then why would we even need reverse engineer it to create an algorithm or something to systematize it, Google? Answer me that question Google AI, do we even know what we’re doing? 

Anyway, getting back to this thorn still sticking in the side of my understanding of democracy within the question of how are we to apply real democracy “of the people” to the world system or any system for that matter. Given that, democracy is a form of collective decision making, wherein the percentage or degree of democracy expressed by the collective is equivalent to the degree by which all members of the collective have the opportunity to participate equally in all of the decisions applied to the collective, the question now arises, how are we actually to determine democratically, in a systematic manner what rules apply to the collective as a whole?

See, if democracy of the people (as opposed to a democracy of representatives)
really were a system of majority rule (which it isn’t), then 51 people of hundred-person collective could legitimately rule over and eat the other 49. This is one of the arguments used against the idea of real democracy by those in favor of oxymoronic notions such as representative democracy with a constitution or the likes to ensure that while the slaves people are indeed ruled over, they are also granted certain rights by their rulers, like the right not to be eaten. Which brings me once again to the question: how do we go about applying democracy (to the highest degree we are able) to the collective as a whole? In other words, how do we reverse engineer the democracy of creation or the democracy of life to formulate it into a system of really, really, really, real democracy to equally accomodate all with the opportunity to equally express themselves within and as the world system of humanity? That’s my question.

Back to School

This afternoon, I’ll be walking into the first day of classes for the fall semester 2018. Funny, my biggest concern isn’t whether or not I’m properly prepared or if I’ll be able to handle so many new kinds of classes, but whether or not I’ll be able to switch some of my classrooms in order to have a better view of the countryside or the mountains. Actually, I’m kind of excited (in a stable way) about returning to school, seeing the old students and meeting the new ones. This year I’ll be teaching some global citizenship orientated classes, a couple of advanced business English classes, some oral training classes and an English for information technology class. It's about 20 hours of teaching per week. Even though I’ve taught most of these kinds of classes before, they’re still somewhat new for me because I’m planning on doing new stuff in all of them. Mostly I’ll be integrating more technology into the classes and asking students to do more studying outside of the classroom. This last point of asking students to do more studying outside of the classroom is somewhat challenging because, many of them really do have a lot to do, especially if they’re also working to support themselves.

As it is the morning and I’d like to go for a walk before my afternoon classes, I’m going to leave you with part 1 of a lecture series that I’ve recently completed on the subject of democracy. This and artificial intelligence will be two of the themes that I’ll be focusing on this semester.