http://emotionresearcher.com/politic...mean-and-dumb/
Kind of a summary of some of the core arguments of the book by the author that I currently read.
Also, this:
http://bleedingheartlibertarians.com...ttle-feelings/
General, vague own doubts, and then Hoppe were main origins for my growing critical attitude towards democracy. It seems I now stumbled over another major name to add to that: Brennan.
Like Hoppe, Brennan offers an ill-defended flank for counter attack, for criticism.
Different to Hoppe, he admits that there are some weak sides in his alternative model, which he considers to be not complete therefore (whereas Hoppe seems to think he offered a complete and realistic alternative - on which I would disagree).
But both men point at the same direction, and they do so for mutually supporting, complementary arguments and reasons. Their diagnosis and description on the hopelessly messed up status quo and the inner contradictions of the democratic concept, is very hard to fight against, I think they simply are very right there. On the alternatives they offer, more discussion and solution-finding is needed. Hoppe concludes that all existence of a state has to be denied and that there is no need for having a state in the first, no matter whether it is a democracy or a monarchy or whatever.
Brennan seems to be less radically against having a state as a principal basis of human community, but seems to take the need for state as a basis. But maybe I have not yet read enough by him.
Quote:
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Let’s be clear: Part of my mission is to downgrade the status we attach to politics. I argue for elitism about politics in the same way I argue for elitism about plumbing. The average person knows jack **** about plumbing, but that doesn’t make him an inferior person. Still, the average person’s opinions on plumbing aren’t worth much more than the stuff we flush down the pipes. Same goes for the average person’s opinions on trade policy, immigration policy, and so on. To have a reasonable point of view requires knowledge of particular relevant facts (let alone social scientific knowledge), but we have 65 years of data showing most people lack awareness or are uninformed about even the most basic relevant facts. “It hurts my feelings when you say that!” Sorry, precious, but I ain’t your mommy.
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