Comments by "Al Loomis" (@alloomis1635) on "Populism: How Mass Movements Degenerate" video.

  1. there is very little democracy around, to support my opinion, but i think people who live in a functioning democracy become citizens while growing up and being educated. as a matter of course, they know their opinions will, collectively, direct the actions of the polity. they learn some basics about economics and social interactions among equals. when referendum day comes around each year, the questions will have been examined and discussed publicly. now and then, a group will put before the electorate a question the administration has neglected or proposed inadequately, and that initiative will be decisive . because, in a democracy, the people rule. perhaps they manage things in this fashion in switzerland, nowhere else among nation states. some of the american states operate this way. and that's about it. much more common is elective aristocracy, where a few hundred people make all the decisions, and can hide from the people the reason for a decision. in such a case, you can be certain that corruption is endemic, incompetence commonplace, and national planning chaotic. equally bad, a populace raised in such a society is ignorant, cynical and alienated. elections are not democracy, and choosing which politician, or political gang is elevated to power is simply a medieval level of social evolution. no wonder 'representative democracies' and 'parliamentary democracies' find it difficult to demonstrate any level of competence in an electronic age.
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