[FRIAM] How democracies die

[steve smith]

Sarbajit wrote:
> "> ..,The people who voted for him probably do not read Paxton, Arendt 
> or Levitsky and Ziblat ..."
> The people who voted for him don't read...
>
> We have a similar problem in India, the great semi-literate masses 
> have been handed cheap smartp[hiones with cheap data plans so they are 
> connected 24x7 to the Matrix.
>
Thank you for this pithy bit of parallax, it cuts at least two ways.

I believe that we 'elites' make the mistake of wanting the 
unwashed/semi-literate/??? masses to share our perspectives (whether we 
be progressive/conservative, liberal/authoritative) and support our 
vision for *their* future.   We then get upset when *they* listen to the 
*other* elites rather than us.

I was completely convinced that Kamala & Co had made such a good 
argument for *our* vision of a future for humanity (American Exceptional 
Centric of course)  that it would *overwhelmingly* (at least by the 
margin Trump took over Harris but vice-versa) persuade the folks whose 
future we are hoping to define.   As it turns out, the *other* camp of 
elites managed to find the right chords to strike, notes to hit to 
resonate with 74M voters?

I'm probably misusing "elite" here (or at least idiosyncratically) to 
reference those with agency in society above some arbitrary threshold.   
Education, Social Status, Professional/Trade Status, Ability, Insight, 
all combine to support this Agency-in-Context, and even more relevant 
perhaps is the *perception* of Agency?   When those who wield 
economic/political/practical power (the wealthy, the successful 
politician or rhetoritician, the champion fighter or consummate 
craftsman) speak, we listen.   Trump had Musk and Rogan and Hulk Hogan 
and the threat/promise of "the STRONG people" (Bikers, LEO, Soldiers, 
Truckers, Cowboys, ... )  while Harris had all the big name 
entertainment talent (except Lee Greenwood?) and Academics (except 
Dennis Prager and 6 other similar wankers) and the Generals ( who the 
rank and file can be taught or reminded to resent) and the intelligencia.

I'm still waiting/hoping/ideating on a better way to achieve collective 
emergent "wisdom".   Glen's references to the tension between "liberal" 
individuality and any of the extant brands of collectivism (party 
membership, military marshalling, religious faithing, culting, etc) 
gestures in a useful direction.   Well formed (if not always understood) 
variations on Swarming (nod to Glen and Marcus) in biology are 
interesting and maybe the best route in, but I'm still stalled and the 
smash into a new era of explicit Trumpism is distracting me, even if it 
somehow forces the parallax I'm missing.

Mumble,

   - Steve
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