[Peace-discuss] Ideology options

[illyes at uiuc.edu]

Take a closer look at "What's the matter with Kansas", Nick. The Republican's took Kansas one person at a time by one-on-one conversation. Progressives can do exactly the same thing, but they have to quit this ivory-tower stuff and start talking to "the masses".

Your reservations about the possibilities of functional democracy are similar to those used by fascists in South America (don't get mad before you read the rest of what I write). It is almost automatically assumed that fascists have bad intentions. This is often not the case. Fascism in South America grew from a dread that liberal democracy would lead to government that pandered to the people, but against their own actual interest, and to general decadence. There is something to this argument, but know that this ideology did not have a good outcome, although the Intagralistas in Brazil are worth reading about.

Marxism has similar bad outcomes. The dictatorship of the proletariat quickly devolved into plain dictatorship. The quality of what followed depended on the strongman in charge, just as is the case in a monarchy. The most interesting current thinking that follows from Marx is anarchist.

I see no counter-proposal from you to liberal democracy or universal suffrage. So far, liberal democracy has the best track record, although its record leaves a lot to be desired, as we all know.

Bob