Posted on 12/25/2016 7:10:37 AM PST by Olog-hai
When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, American political scientist Francis Fukuyama famously proclaimed the “end of history”, seeing the triumph of the United States as the only remaining superpower and the leader of Western democracies.
“The end point of mankind’s ideological evolution and the universalization of Western liberal democracy (is) the final form of human government,” he wrote in his best-selling 1992 book, The End of History and the Last Man.
Twenty-five years later, Fukuyama’s certainties have all but vanished. Liberal democracy in Europe and the United States is in crisis, while China and Russia demonstrate that authoritarian regimes are increasingly determining global priorities. […]
“Never before have I seen national governments so weakened by the forces of populism and paralyzed by the risk of defeat in the next elections,” lamented European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker during his State of the EU address in September. …
(Excerpt) Read more at euractiv.com ...
In the sense that they are selected by a majority vote.
But how is that democratic, when posited against republicanism?
Perhaps it isn’t.
Merry Christmas
We are just fine. In fact, given we just elected someone outside the establishment, we are doing better than most.
Dear Liberals,
Can’t you hear me Knocking.................?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fa4HUiFJ6c
George Orwell drafted his earliest notes for what became NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR in 1943, under the proposed title of “The Last Man in Europe.
As O’Brien was torturing Winston Smith in Room 101, he explained to Winston the history of class struggle (tyrants, kings, oligarchs, democracy, fascism, socialism: IngSoc) and how the group in power eventually gave way to the group challenging them. He compared power shifts to the swing of a pendulum.
O’Brien told Winston that he was the last man: Big Brother and Ingsoc had finally stopped the pendulum from swinging. He asserted that the Party had managed to end history.
The end of history is a political and philosophical concept that supposes that a particular political, economic, or social system may develop that would constitute the end-point of humanity’s sociocultural evolution and the final form of human government.
We have been living under a statist, oligarchical tyranny for a quarter century. The Republic dodged a bullet last November 8th. The next few years may be our last chance to ensure that we continue to govern ourselves.
The executive orders ad nauseum are more like Russia and China. We haven’t been following the principles of our founders for generations and that isn’t changing Jan 2017. Lotsa taxpayer money for cororations, a trillion dollar stimulus and jobs created or saved.. Trump sounds more like Obama than anyone will admit.
The normal cycle is tyranny and anarchy. So far we have held on long to the in-between point.
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