The perfect dictatorship would have the appearance of a democracy, but in reality would be a prison without walls, from which the prisoners would not even dream of escaping. It would essentially be a system of slavery in which, through consumption and entertainment...
  • Aldous Huxley, Brave New World (1932).
Aldous Huxley wrote his book in the interwar period. He had a great (and correct, in my opinion) vision of the future of humanity. He foresaw that people's lives would be manipulated by giving them what they want and desire, rather than controlling them through fear. In other words, he saw pleasure and desire as the tools of control, while Orwell, several years later (1949), saw fear and repression as the means of controlling people's lives.
History has shown that they were both right. Fear and repression were (and still are) used to control people's lives in totalitarian regimes, while pleasure and desire are used as tools of control in democratic governments.
Aldous Huxley, in Brave New World presents a picture of a future society, the World State, where science and social control will create stability and well-being. People are created in laboratories, predetermined for their caste, and conditioned from birth to accept their roles. Bernard longs for acceptance despite his nonconformity, while John struggles with the superficiality of the World State after being taken there.
Their contrasting experiences highlight the conflict between the engineered happiness of the World State and the passionate, unpredictable nature of traditional life. John introduces concepts of love, art, and religion that challenge the values of the World State. However, his attempts to integrate these ideas clash with society's conditioning. The result is a tragedy.
In the end, this great book becomes a warning about the dangers of sacrificing individuality and critical thinking for the sake of stability and pleasure. It encourages the reader of that time, - but especially the readers of our times, - to reflect on the true meaning of happiness and the importance of human relationships in a world driven by technology and control.
In my previous post, I stated that we're no longer living a democracy but infocracy where the censorship and self-censorship is mandatory, you learn that some things can't be said, some jokes are not allowed but most important thing of everything: you need to keep your independent thoughts for you.
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I can only become disappointed by the fact that how people come up with the idea of establishing democracies. More disappointing is that people worship it as the highest level of government and order. What's interesting though is that all of them knew the 'tragedy of Democracy in Athens'. Democracy is a tragic regime it's not there to deliver true happiness or freedom. However, I believe that Bitcoin recognises the vices of a democracy and can easily eradicate them once fully adopted.
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I believe that Bitcoin recognises the vices of a democracy and can easily eradicate them once fully adopted.
I believe it, too.
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Take more soma which is a great muscle relaxer FYI
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šŸ’Æ percent
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ā€œBut I donā€™t want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness. I want sin. I want Bitcoinā€
That's my modified John Savage quote.
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Donā€™t we all live in such a setting, to some extent? No matter which country or continent youā€™re from. As an idealist, I strongly believe that modern democracy is brokenā€¦ and Iā€™m not happy about that.
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Representative government is broken because the politicians who are elected ignore the will of their constituents
This is most prominent in USA and Europe
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21 sats \ 4 replies \ @398ja 17 Jun
Democracy and diversity don't mix well, it's like water and oil...
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And can only work in small communities
Democracy worked in Athens because it was a city state or polis
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Definately has a scaling problem, the larger it gets the more degrees of seperation, and people can make decisions that benefit them at the expense of others, if it's small, you know the community will be on your ass in a second, so you best not play bs
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21 sats \ 1 reply \ @398ja 17 Jun
Or maybe by removing the welfare state or the money printer from the equation, we could mitigate its flaws?
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The flaws of all forms of government
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That quote from Huxley reminds me of modern day Britainā€¦..
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There are many countries in the world with this case and yet they remain normal. Their citizens continue to fight to be heard and try to get out of their dictatorships.
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I feel like this describes the U.S. very well. We have a strong appearance of free will, freedom, and liberty. In reality, these things can be done - but the election two-party system is flawed - and to have freedom units in the united states (and many western countries), you need a lot of money - which isn't accessible to everyone.
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Currently the world is passing through a patch where reality will cross myths side by side. I would attribute this to 'free nd extensive information available everywhere for everyone.
You're absolutely right about democracy being the dictatorship. It's only a difference that there's a tussle after every few years to replace the dictator. At least totalitarianism does not accept hypocrisy and propaganda but democracy is the grandest show where hypocrites play their roles to establish propaganda.
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The closest thing to that is Putin šŸ˜‚ Awfully many round numbers there, isn't it? šŸ¤”šŸ¤”
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I think that the more you can read and absorb good information... Above all books, that will give you the freedom of thought that so many people need and that are obviously blinded and hidden by the great powers, those corporations or characters that do not want you to wake up... and that you only dedicate yourself to sleeping, eating, working and returning home... thus substantively while your life and time escapes... and in that process making them richer... you have to find a way to encourage and get more children Put down the tablets or smartphone and read, read... knowledge is POWER... and only then will we have hope for the future.
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I don't think so, just look at China. There's no one opposing Xi and no one even think much about the politics. With democratic system, even a false one, at least you'd have discussion and able to grasp some basic concepts.
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With democratic system, even a false one, at least you'd have discussion and able to grasp some basic concepts.
Yes, you can discuss about politics, but this doesnā€™t mean you are living in a free country. Thatā€™s an illusion.
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I think you are (sadly) correct... ā€œā€¦Freedom, to most, it is an idea. An abstract thought that pertains to control. Thatā€™s not Freedom, thatā€™s independence. Freedom is riding wild over untamed land with no notion any moment exists beyond one you are livingā€¦ā€ 1883
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I lived majority of my life there, I know the difference.
There's no such thing as a "free country", it's just a scale.
even something as simple as having more discussion and awareness, that's a massive improvement over what china has.
So I totally disagree perfect dictatorship has an appearance of democracy
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There are people who appose him, they just get disappeared real quick, but Xi is one person, he is not tapping on everyones shoulder, theres millions of people who believe his bs and act accordingly
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