Direct Democracy

First, let me tell you that the Billionaire owned government and media that you have today and the Democracy™ that they promote is not Democracy at all, it is Aristocracy, Oligarchy, Plutocracy sprinkled with a little Kleptocracy. If you have not read it yet and do not see this, see my post on How to Become a Freethinker (https://directdemocracyandgifteconomy.blogspot.com/2018/10/how-to-become-freethinker-warning.html) for more on how to break out of The Matrix that they have created and you have been indoctrinated in to. 

Second, a little Greek lesson for the day: 

Demos 

Pronunciation

/ˈdiˌmɑs/, /ˈdiˌmɔs/

Noun 

(political science, singular or plural) The ordinary citizens of an ancient Greek city-state; hence, the common populace of a state or district (especially a democratic one); the people. 

-cracy 

Alternative forms

-ocracy

Pronunciation

/-kɹəsi/

Suffix

-cracy

rule (in the sense of governing). 

When combined together you get Democracy, or, People Rule (another way of saying majority rule). 

Without hierarchy, which in a Direct Democracy there is none (everyone has equal input into how the society is run), there can never be: 

War

Atrocities

Dictatorship

By allowing ourselves to be ruled instead of ruling ourselves, we will continue to suffer. 

Questions And Comments I Have Received In The Past

"But the US is already a Democracy." 

No, it is not. A Democracy is majority rule by direct voting, period. 

"But, but, it's a Representative Democracy." 

Again, no it is not. In order for it to be a Representative Democracy, the Constitution would need to be rewritten to force Representatives to represent the majority. What you have today in the US (and other nations) is instead minority rule by those with the most money, offering up "donations" and million dollar jobs after the representative leaves office is just legalized bribery. 

So what is the US and others (UK, Australia, etc...)? 

A Plutocracy (Government by the Wealthy) which is a government by the few, the wealthy few. 

A common logical fallacy you may run into when arguing for Direct Democracy: 

"Direct Democracy is 51% of the people forcing their will on the other 49%." 

This falls under a number of logical fallacies but the main one is ignoring the entire range of numbers and where most elections typically fall. Your response to this might be: 

"Is it better that 49% of the people force their view on the other 51%? What if it were 45 to 55? 40 to 60? 25 to 75? 1 to 99? At what point is rule by the few better?" 

In reality, these individuals are working for the few to maintain the status quo. Those in power will never accept majority rule as it threatens their positions in the political or economic hierarchies. 

To learn more on logical fallacies, see Carl Sagan's Baloney Detection Kit. 

https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/The_Fine_Art_of_Baloney_Detection

"Mob Rule" 

This is actually an Aristocratic slander of the people, the 99%. What they want is their rule and you, the peasants, follow. What they do not want is you, the people's, rule. 

Think about everyone you know, your family, cousins, friends, co-workers, acquaintances. All of them, including you, are the "mob". Don't fall for this Aristocratic slander. 

The "Experts" Opinion Of Democracy

"They did it because they wanted to avoid the pitfalls of past governments, including factions, special interests, oligarchs, despots, monarchy, weak central government, and specifically mob rule." 

Defenders of the US Republic (yes, it is a Republic, not a Democracy) cite the above as reasons why the founders chose a Republic over a Democracy (majority rule via direct vote). I break this down into easy to understand reasons why they are wrong, and corrupt, and don't believe in Democracy at all, but rule by the few, which is what the world has endured for thousands of years. 

First off, everyone needs to remember that the founders, the vast majority of them anyway (Thomas Paine is an exception and the best of the group) were Aristocrats, the colonies nobility, and therefore created a type of government which would protect their own interests first and foremost. Many of the elements outlined in the above argument are currently present in the existing Republic (factions, special interests, oligarchs, despots), and while monarchy may not appear, at least on the surface, it has long been 5) replaced by a new type of monarchy of privately owned fiefdoms. This means that while claiming to want to prevent these, they in fact protect those as the system shows in today's world. 

Now on to my favorite topic, "mob rule", otherwise known as Democracy. 

"Mob rule, also called Tyranny of the Majority, is what happens when a “pure” Democracy devolves into Anarchy, and thus there is no law or laws are not followed." 

Yes, it is true that the majority would impose their will on the minority, and if you're a wealthy Aristocrat, or a member of the top 1%, well, that is the last thing you would want, so what do you do? You attack actual Democracy (or people rule) and impose your "Tyranny of the Minority" upon the majority (the 99%). This is very important to remember when Aristocrats and their bootlickers attack Democracy or majority rule, it is the very last thing they want in society as they know their very positions of privilege depends on their rule of society, just like in a Monarchy, Aristocracy or Dictatorship. They are stating that they HATE Democracy when they state this. 

Now, does that mean Democracy "devolves" into Anarchy, YES IT DOES! And this is the next very important point I want to make here, is that Anarchy does not mean Chaos (which they want you to believe), it means an absence of hierarchy, or a world without them. This does not mean there is no law (that is Chaos, the absence of Law, people can and will make laws, just the laws will not be to the liking of the Aristocrats. 

I hope that this helps those who are confused on the subjects of Democracy and Anarchy as that is the intent of my writing here today. 

The quotes above come from the article linked below. 

http://factmyth.com/why-did-the-founding-fathers-choose-a-republic/

Q. Can't we just vote in new rulers to fix the current system?" 

With Citizens United, gerrymandering and the cancellation of the Fairness Doctrine, the people have no chance at all, of taking back their government from the top 1%, it is completely corrupt now. The only viable option is to start all over again. 

Create a new Declaration of Independence, draw up a new constitution based on natural law and not immutable, and build a new economic system which prevents the few from ever corrupting the political system again. 

This is not a radical idea, your Founding Fathers did exactly the same thing: 

"That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government..." - Thomas Jefferson

No American should trust our current election system. 

- The software used is proprietary, no citizen groups can review the code, and the machines are owned by Billionaires. 

- Citizens cannot check on their own, if their votes were counted accurately. 

- No one can independently verify its integrity and international monitors are not permitted. 

What We Could Have

Democracy is majority rule by direct vote, if we had that we'd have: 

M4A

Green New Deal

Free college

Guaranteed vacation time

Guaranteed maternity leave

Higher minimum wage

Higher taxes on the wealthy

Less military spending...

And why don't we? Because we have rule by the few. 

Examples

Now, onto some recent examples of Direct Democracy in the US (yes, you do in fact already have it, at the state and local levels). 

Deep-red Nebraska joins liberal states in adopting $15 minimum wage

https://abcnews.go.com/Business/nebraska-voters-approve-15-minimum-wage/story?id=92985074

Ohio votes to legalize marijuana for adult recreational use, becoming 24th state to do so

https://apnews.com/article/ohio-marijuana-legalization-election-2023-6d15efb27fdcd41e7364f2b7cd3177f4

Ohio votes in favor of amending the state constitution to enshrine abortion rights

https://www.npr.org/2023/11/07/1209092670/2023-results-key-ohio-elections

Now, does this mean that the majority always gets it right? Not at all, and there are a few examples of how money has manipulated the will of the people into voting against their best interests, which is why their ability to manipulate the people needs to be removed from the Democracy. 

California voters turn down drug pricing initiative

https://www.reuters.com/article/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/california-voters-turn-down-drug-pricing-initiative-idUSKBN13411Y/

And you can find many, many more examples of Direct Democracy in action out there, just do the research. 

Implementing and maintaining a true Direct Democracy is a lot easier than most would believe or those in power would like you to believe.  In the US, there is already Direct Democracy in practice at the state and local levels and we have the technological know-how to implement it at the nation level today.

First step is do not ask for your leaders to support it, they never will, or the version of Direct Democracy that they will give you will be more Democracy™. If you truly want the will of the people, the existing power structure must be completely ignored. Just hit the mute button on your internal remote and when enough people have done this, they will just slink away back under the rock from which they crawled.

Building A Direct Democracy From The Ground Up

A Direct Democracy can start small, at the local level, and grow from there, it can be a simple show of hands, yeas and nays, votes written on paper and eventually grow into a online system of voting which can be done from any computer or mobile device.  It can start in your town or city, grow to regions and states, nations and even the entire world (which is where we need to go if we are to advance to the next stage of Human evolution). 

So how would a Direct Democracy online work exactly?

1.  Election software that is open source, no more putting your blind faith in proprietary software vendors (100% owned by a few families). There are many open source software projects currently available today or in the works (see https://democracy.foundation/similar-projects/). 
2.  Software based on blockchain technology and using the highest encryption mechanisms available (and feasible to use). 
3.  A voter can use any computer or mobile device to vote and is as secure as your online bank. 
4.  Election day would be a mandatory paid holiday (in the event we are still using money), any citizen that absolutely must work that day must be given time to vote during their work shift.
5.  All votes must be recorded and made publicly available.  This is the ONLY way that the system can ever be 100% trusted.  Anyone found to be taking action against another individual for their vote should be sentenced to prison.  People should NOT be afraid of how they vote and black box voting is the surest way to manipulate election results.

So how is legislation created and how in a nation of millions does voting not become overwhelming by so many bills? 

At the state and local levels of government in many nations, this is already in place. A proportion of the population, typically 5%, must agree on a piece of legislation being passed on to be voted on. This can all be done online and similar bills can be consolidated using AI. 

Lastly, the only way a Direct Democracy can ever work is by ridding the world of the other part of every society that can be used to manipulate it; the economic system.  As long as a few individuals can hoard enormous wealth, they can and will use that wealth to manipulate even Direct Democracies (as evidenced by the vote buying in the ancient Greek Democracy).  See my post on a Gift Economy (https://directdemocracyandgifteconomy.blogspot.com/2020/04/gift-economy.html) for the solution to that problem. 

Corruption By The Few

Beware of the agents of the wealthy few out there who attack Democracy, stating that it is the problem with the world today. Democracy is one thing and one thing only, majority rule via direct voting. What the wealthy tell you daily is Democracy, via their mouthpieces in government and the media which they own, is not Democracy at all, but yet another variation of rule by the wealthy few. The wealthy want you to reject Democracy which is a threat to their rule in favor of Authoritarianism, don't fall for it. Create new government where you the people truly rule and the wealthy few who desire your obedient servitude, lose. 

Beware of those on the "left" who are pushing Totalitarian Capitalism as a solution while claiming it is Socialism or Communism. 

Also beware of those on the "right" pushing Bitcoin and other patches to Capitalism as fixes for Capitalism, it cannot be fixed, it is exactly what it always has and ever will be; New Age Feudalism. 

Something which defenders of political and economic hierarchy fail to realize is that the majority can take away everything they have in an instant, anytime they like, all they have to do is reject both, and the entire house of cards which the wealthy minority live in, collapses. 

I Have A Dream Too

As adults, I believe we all have a desire to return to our innocence, but we all feel trapped by the society which we live in and that makes some angry, spiteful, and others turn to escapes. We can get back our innocence, but in order to do so we must abandon the society we have been indoctrinated into our entire lives. We have it in our power to change this world, not just for ourselves but for each other. 

When you see people defending the status quo ask them what is their agenda or motivation, see if they reply. 

What I have found is that everyone, without exception, has an agenda; some are working for intelligence agencies (public and/or private), some maybe "earn" a living from the labor of others and enjoy a life of abject leisure and love having others serve them. Always think about this when determining their agenda. 

So what is my agenda or motivation? Since everyone has one, including myself, I will share mine with you and it is simply to put an end to all of this suffering going on in the world today. If my agenda were power, I would not be advocating for #DirectDemocracy politically as that eliminates the power of the few or the one, nor would I advocate for a #GiftEconomy as that eliminates economic hierarchy. I have nothing to gain except for a better world for all life on this planet. 

So when you encounter others and they are fighting for the status quo, don't forget to ask them and yourself, what is their agenda or motivation for maintaining the status quo, you'll be able to spot the agents easily enough from their reply. 

We make this life Heaven or Hell for ourselves and each other, it's a choice and we have it in our power to change it anytime we like. 

This document is a living document and will be updated as new information becomes available so check back regularly for updates.

Gift Economy

How does a Gift Economy work and what is not part of a Gift Economy? 

Once you talk about credits or ledgers, you are no longer talking about a gift economy, it is just another way around talking about money.

This is how a true gift economy works:

Individual A is a barber, he cuts Individual B's hair. Individual B walks out the door, thanking Individual A.
Individual B is a truck driver, he picks up food from Individual C and delivers it to Individual D at the grocery store.  Individual D stocks the shelves, opens the doors and in walks Individual A who picks up what he needs and leaves.

See something familiar in all of this?  It operates the same as our current money based economic system, the difference is there is no money, no credits, no ledgers, no barter; this is the true essence of a gift economy. A gift economy is not Christmas, which is in fact based on trade (I give you a gift, you give me a gift). A gift economy is about giving without an expectation of something in return which is different than a trade based model in which something is expected. You will never give more than you receive in a gift economy. 

So you might ask, what if Individual E does not contribute but only consumes?  Good question.

This is where Individual F comes in who is a psychiatrist, individuals that do not contribute to the society and are in fact anti-social likely have some issues that may need looked after. The lack of interest we see in the world today to contributing are due to the system of slavery we are in today. People want to be free, not be slaves, and by removing the system of slavery from the equation, people will want to gift in ways they are happy with. It may take a generation for the effects of the monetary system to dissipate and that is why there will be the need for mental and emotional therapy.

Now on to the benefits, which are major.

- There is no debt, since there is no tracking. No more worrying about "paying the bills".
- All jobs that had to deal with money or ledgers, or serving others (unless the individual decides to do that work), are all eliminated, thus reducing the number of jobs by half. The work week when everyone contributes is reduced and there is more time for leisure, family, friends, to learn new skills and hobbies.
- Automation of jobs will no longer be feared, but embraced, especially when it comes to jobs that no one wants to do.
- Goods will be created with the best materials to last as long as possible, thus reducing the amount of work involved in the long run.  They will also be engineered to be as close to 100% recyclable, upgradeable or otherwise reusable as possible to conserve our natural resources.

Sharing Economy 

I wanted to mention another type of economy which is based on sharing. A Sharing Economy is also a Gift Economy, allow me to give an example. 

A new VacTrain is produced and gifted to the society as a whole, it is not gifted to an individual like food or clothing are as it will be used by many people. Everyone that rides on that VacTrain is in fact sharing that gift and it can be shared many times over. 

No system is without problems and that also goes for the Gift Economy, there will always be jobs that no one wants to do, and until those jobs are fully automated, we will all have to share in the burden.

For how people would organize and make decisions in a Gift Economy, see my post on Direct Democracy here (https://directdemocracyandgifteconomy.blogspot.com/2020/04/how-direct-democracy-works.html).

This document is a living document and will be updated as new information becomes available so check back regularly for updates.