Posted on 12/07/2014 7:41:29 PM PST by CharlesOConnell
Ochlocracy ("rule of the general populace") is democracy ("rule of the people") spoiled by demagoguery, "tyranny of the majority", and the rule of passion over reason, just as oligarchy ("rule of a few") is aristocracy ("rule of the best") spoiled by corruption, and tyranny is monarchy spoiled by lack of virtue. Ochlocracy is synonymous in meaning and usage to the modern, informal term "mobocracy", which emerged from a much more recent colloquial etymology.
Polybius
The term appears to have been coined by Polybius in his Histories (6.4.6). He uses it to name the "pathological" version of popular rule in opposition to the good version, which he refers to as democracy. There are numerous mentions of the word "ochlos" in the Talmud (where "ochlos" refers to anything from "mob", "populace", to "armed guard"), as well as in Rashi, a Jewish commentary on the Bible. The word is recorded in English since 1584, derived from the French ochlocratie (1568), which stems from the original Greek okhlokratia, from okhlos ("mob") and kratos (meaning "rule, power, strength").
In ancient Greek political thought ochlocracy was considered as one of the three "bad" forms of government (tyranny, oligarchy and ochlocracy) as opposed to the three "good" forms of government (monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy). The distinction between "good" and "bad" was made according to whether the government form would act in the interest of the whole community ("good") or the exclusive interests of a group or individual at the expense of justice ("bad").
This (Polybian) terminology for forms of state in ancient Greek philosophy has become customary. It should be noted, though, that Aristotle terms democracy as polity (sometimes translated as republic, which confusingly is used by other Aristotle-translators for aristocracy, instead) while giving the name of democracy to ochlocracy.
An ochlocrat is one who is an advocate or partisan of ochlocracy. It can also be used as an adjective (ochlocratic or ochlocratical).
The threat of "mob rule" to a democracy is restrained by ensuring that the rule of law protects minorities or individuals against short-term demagoguery or moral panic. Though considering how laws in a democracy are established or repealed by the majority, the rule of law's protection of minorities is questionable.
Anarchism, meaning "without government", is a term covering various anti-authoritarian philosophies and movements, generally viewing themselves as socialist, which are dedicated to the replacement of states and/or governments (either capitalist governments or all governments) by various suggested alternatives such as autonomous self-realizing democratic structures. Anarchists reject the criticism that anarchism is inherently ochlocratic as a mischaracterization of anarchism, arguing that it includes theories of structure and mutual support rooted in democracy and free association.
Historians often comment on mob rule as a factor in the rise of Rome and its maintenance, as the city of Rome itself was largebetween 100,000 and 250,000 citizenswhile the aristocracy and even military was very small by comparison to the citizenry. Lapses in this control often led to loss of official power (and often enough, the heads of the officials themselves)most notably in the reign of Commodus when Cleander unwisely used the Praetorian Guard against a mob which had come to call for his head. As historian Edward Gibbon relates it:
The people...demanded with angry clamors the head of the public enemy. Cleander, who commanded the Praetorian Guards, ordered a body of cavalry to sally forth and disperse the seditious multitude. The multitude fled with precipitation towards the city; several were slain, and many more were trampled to death; but when the cavalry entered the streets their pursuit was checked by a shower of stones and darts from the roofs and windows of the houses. The footguards, who had long been jealous of the prerogatives and insolence of the Praetorian cavalry, embraced the party of the people. The tumult became a regular engagement and threatened a general massacre. The Praetorians at length gave way, oppressed with numbers; and the tide of popular fury returned with redoubled violence against the gates of the palace, where Commodus lay dissolved in luxury, and alone unconscious of the civil war...Commodus started from his dream of pleasure and commanded that the head of Cleander should be thrown out to the people. The desired spectacle instantly appeased the tumult...
This followed a previous incident in which the legions of Britain had demanded and received the death of Perennis, the prior administrator. The mob thus realized that it had every chance of success.
The Salem Witch Trials, in which the unified belief of the townspeople overpowered the logic of the law, has also been cited as an example of mob rule. In 1837 Abraham Lincoln wrote about lynching and "the increasing disregard for law which pervades the countrythe growing disposition to substitute the wild and furious passions in lieu of the sober judgment of courts, and the worse than savage mobs for the executive ministers of justice".
The modern theories of civil disobedience and satyagraha can be differentiated from "mob rule" and its mechanics, as these approaches forego the use of violence and force that the mob of ancient times employed.
Traditional non-violent protest theory holds that if the demonstrators are restrained and do not do any violence, yet refuse to back down, then they could conceivably win, as they either will be joined by the forces they face, be allowed to defy the law or government openly and peacefully, or be physically attacked, struck down, and made into powerful moral symbols of the lengths to which the agents of the state will go to enforce its laws. However, police forces around the world have become adept at making such gatherings irrelevant by limiting them to areas, in some cases dubbed "free speech zones", sufficiently separate from the object of their discontent, the rest of the public, and the media, to make them easily ignored. Permitting requirements in many jurisdictions effectively make demonstrations without advance police permission illegal. Various efforts to increase demonstrators' communal intelligence and mobility using cell phone networks and bicycles have been employed to circumvent crowd control and marginalizing techniques. Flash mobs and Critical Mass style "bike block" actions are examples experimented with, with mixed results, notably during the 2004 Republican National Convention.
Modern theory concludes that since Roman guards, facing crucifixion for disobedience, could be swayed by mobs, it is also possible to sway modern police, even in a police state.
Bookmark
Bkmrk.
Over the last few days, one of the things that I have noticed were the OWS people (predominately rich white 18 - 30 year olds) in all the marches. It seems pretty obvious that the OWS crowd didn’t go away but changed their venue. Also notice that all of the marches have the contingents that shout down with capitalism, social justice, economic justice and all the other communist drivel.
Perhaps it is time to retreat, as did the Irish monks in times long forgotten.
Our only hope may be to quietly withdraw into like-minded conservative communities, keeping the best of our history alive and passing it along to our children.
And, practical skills! We risk it all if we forget how to churn butter, shoe a horse, weave fabric, etc.
Our only hope may be to quietly withdraw into like-minded conservative communities, keeping the best of our history alive and passing it along to our children.
And, practical skills! We risk it all if we forget how to churn butter, shoe a horse, weave fabric, etc.
12/7/2014, 7:53:03 PM by jacquej ("You cannot have a conservative government with a liberal culture." (Mark Steyn))
In this fast-paced, reflective novel, (the second in a trilogy following Strangers and Sojourners) Michael O'Brien presents the dramatic tale of a family that finds itself in the path of a totalitarian government. Set in the near future, the story describes the rise of a police state in North America in which every level of society is infected with propaganda, confusion and disinformation. Few people are equipped to recognize what is happening because the culture of the Western world has been deformed by a widespread undermining of moral absolutes.
Against this background, the Delaney family of Swiftcreek, British Columbia, is struck a severe blow when the father of the family, the editor of a small newspaper which dares to speak the truth, is arrested by the dreaded Office of Internal Security. His older children flee into the forest of the northern interior, accompanied by their great-grandfather and an elderly priest, Father Andrei. Their little brother Arrow also becomes a fugitive as the government seeks to remove any witnesses, and eradicate all evidence of its ultimate goals.
As O'Brien draws together the several strands of the story into a frightening yet moving climax, he explores the heart of growing darkness in North America, examining events which have already occurred. The reader will take away from this disturbing book a number of urgent questions: Are we living in the decisive moment of history? How dire is our situation? Do we live in pessimistic dread, or a Christian realism founded on hope? This is a tale about the victory of the weak over the powerful, courage over terror, good over evil, and, above all, the triumph of love.
I vote we utilize our massive stockpiles of ammo and keep these savages penned in their self-made urban hovels until they exterminate each other. I ain’t one for walking away from my birthright and my life’s hard work like some fugging coward.
If some lowly death camp guard who has long since retired can be stripped of U.S. citizenship and deported for these type of activities, I don't understand why Soros cannot.
Other than the fact that he has a major ownership interest in the Democrat party.
The Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy Explained in One Chart
http://dailysignal.com/wp-content/uploads/140917_DemocracyAlliance.png
It's time to stop puting the majority of Americans in an unfavorable light and start believing that we will get rid of these radicals soon. I believe it is going to take a great deal of effort to hold our newly elected officials accountable. We have to burn up the phone lines, text and email until our fingers get sore.
If something is worth fighting for, fight for it. I plan to take my own advice and communicate my feelings.
When will that dried up old nazi croak?
You’ve heard of the Koch brothers, but have you ever heard of these guys?
How Two Billionaires Rescued a Union Bank
http://buswk.co/1aqx9Iz
The Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy Explained in One Chart
http://dailysignal.com/wp-content/uploads/140917_DemocracyAlliance.png
Looking for The Killer Slideshow.
Justice Lewis F. Powell, Jr. |
|
The godfather of the
|
|
Ostensibly concerned with attempts of Democrat Party outsiders to wrest control from the party old-guard using netroots, powerful new means of fund-raising & connectivity centering around the internet, the author of The Argument ends up admitting that, by the 2006 mid-term elections, despite the influx of new blood, the Democrat Party was as far as ever from convincing votersor itselfthat it has any ideas or programs that make it superior to, or different from, the Republicans. Of special interest in The Argument is a PowerPoint® presentation nicknamed "The Killer Slideshow", formally titled The Conservative Message Machine's Money Matrix. Compiled over a period of about a decade by a leftist policy wonk, Clinton administration treasury official Rob Stein, the 2004 presentation used charts, diagrams and other graphic aids to detail the rise of the conservative foundation movement between the defeat of Barry Goldwater by President Lyndon Baines Johnson in 1964, and Ronald Reagan's 1976 Republican primary challenge to President Gerald R. Ford. The Killer Slideshowno one was allowed to view it without signing a non-divulgence agreementtook as its starting point the August, 1971 memorandum from future Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, Lewis F. Powell, Jr., to Eugene B. Sydnor, Jr., Chairman, Education Committee, U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Titled "Attack on the American Free Enterprise System", the confidential memorandum was held to be the original inspiration for the system of conservative foundations, considered by Democrat Party operatives in The Argument to have locked down Republican Party domination of the Presidency for nearly thirty years between Carter and Obama, only interrupted by Clinton. The presentation's point was to exhort leftist donors into replicating the Republicans' long-term, Presidential electoral success . (Regardless of the slideshow's ultimate effect, it is worthy of note that the Obamanistas project a forty-year reign, longer than that of the Democrats during the Depression period 1933-1954. Democrat campaign strategist James Carville has argued quite persuasively that the political statistics make Democrat domination of the Presidency, the most likely outcome of the current economic and political struggles.) |
When will that dried up old nazi croak?
It won't work. He's having his brain saved for posterity.
Thanks for the link to Michael O’Brien’s book. It is going on my “must read” list. I am interested in the trilogy, thanks to your post.
Wish I could convince my adult children that the “carnival” will end, and the rides will come to a grinding halt. But, they are mesmerized, corporatized, and running on the hamster wheel of progress.
I am now a “generation past” in their eyes, which roll whenever I mention 18 trillion dollar deficits, and unfunded debts of over 100 trillion - beyond imagination. I have learned not to mention the quadrillion in derivatives, hedge funds, or any of that “icky” stuff they are too busy to consider.
Feeling a bit discouraged tonight, and wondering how long “TPTB” can keep all the plates spinning in the air?
Bttt!
bookmark
BTTT
An informative thread detailing that the tentacles of Soros’ “progressive change” are manipulating current events.
bookmarked
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.