It's funny that you say Court Eunuchs, I use "Pharisees" and "Mandarins" interchangeably for this purpose, especially because they believe in nothing but controlling temple/state revenue, obscure regulations, and what I call "The liturgy of government" [notice all the times they freaked out about Trump breaking "precedents" but those precedents were obscure things that Plebs didn't understand, to add yet another analogy, its as if they were saying the auspices were taken incorrectly]
However I have mostly seen Janissary used to reference the white people with power who are anti-white activists, of course relating it to the status of Janissary as those born Christians and propagandized into being the arm of an oppressive Muslim state.
The Egyptian Mamelukes are another example - they have ruled Egypt for hundreds of years and still do. Same in Myanmar.
Gore Vidal wrote the novel "Empire" about how his beloved Republic became and Empire.
The solution of defunding DC is not a magical pill, and the dance always restarts and gets amplyfied.
The only democratic means of runing the affairs of a political community is via election by sortition. The election of representatives in competing elections is an aristocratic approach. Once you get refreshes every 2/6 years, they will clean the legislation and start to strangle the entrenched interests/powers - unless of course they are overthrown and a more "appropriate" system is put in place. Even sortition can be corrupted, by corrupting the algorithms for picking the SIN numbers of elected representatives. Or if people have moved into a sociopathic mode of being, and then the majority of those randomly elected will consider their own interest, and it will be like winning the lottery. Atomization of society pushed by the consumer capitalism has oppened that Pandora's Box. While a politician famously said, holding on her little purse: "There is no such thing as a society...".
Then the hope will only be from outside, from the Barbarians...
It will always be a struggle. But people need to understand the problems in the first place, need to understand what could be solutions for fixing systems, and need to be desperate due to hunger, etc. in order to act in mass against TPTB.
The Mamelukes were definitely another good example. As is the current case in Myanmar.
Haven't read Empire but sounds like I should. Thanks for the recommendation.
Your point about sortition is a good one and one I had not considered before. In fact, I'd never paid much attention to the concept until just now when you suggested it. The limiting of our candidate choices by political party structure is definitely one of the major problems preventing reform. What do you think would be necessary to get to it? I don't see it happening without a major upheaval — and yes probably due to barbarians, whoever you consider them to be.
Much of the country is still in the problem identification phase of change, if they've even begun. It's hard to focus on both problem identification and solutions when you're on a hamster wheel trying to keep yourself and your family financially stable. The most major revolutions of modern times have only come after tribulation and hunger, e.g. Russia in 1917. I hope we can stave off problems before we get to that point. But WWIII would most likely push us that direction, and that's the direction we seem to be heading.
I do not think that in our world there is a country where the political class and its backers would accept sortition as an electoral method. Thus, the silver lining might appear only after a horrible tragey or series of tragedies. And prior to that there needs to be a relentless message from the grassroots and understanding from the population that a different electoral system is absolutely needed.
The two Davids, in their magnificent "The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity" argue convincingly that sortition was likely the mode of decision in most of humans prehistory.
While Simone Weil has provided a rebbutal for political parties. But a fun, tongue in cheeck argument for sortition you will find here:
I find it amusing that you write this excellent piece and then shy away from the obvious solution, that you - for understandable reasons - don't lay out.
In fact you spelled out the solution yourself:
"Because, despite what your kindergarten teacher probably said, violence can in fact solve problems. It’s the main power from which all others are derived."
The obvious solution is violence. You will find plenty of examples that will fit perfectly into your history lineup. Unfortunately that is not a solution a democrat can accept, but acceptance or not, that is what history will dictate at the end regardless, whether by outside or inside forces.
I'm glad you understand the reasons I didn't specifically lay it out. Things are shaky enough as it is. I don't want to be the one calling for more trouble. I also don't need a bigger target on my back.
Additionally, I assume my readers are intelligent enough to be able to draw their own conclusions. I've seen a pretty big change in opinions in the last ~48 hours, I'll tell you that much.
It's funny that you say Court Eunuchs, I use "Pharisees" and "Mandarins" interchangeably for this purpose, especially because they believe in nothing but controlling temple/state revenue, obscure regulations, and what I call "The liturgy of government" [notice all the times they freaked out about Trump breaking "precedents" but those precedents were obscure things that Plebs didn't understand, to add yet another analogy, its as if they were saying the auspices were taken incorrectly]
However I have mostly seen Janissary used to reference the white people with power who are anti-white activists, of course relating it to the status of Janissary as those born Christians and propagandized into being the arm of an oppressive Muslim state.
The Egyptian Mamelukes are another example - they have ruled Egypt for hundreds of years and still do. Same in Myanmar.
Gore Vidal wrote the novel "Empire" about how his beloved Republic became and Empire.
The solution of defunding DC is not a magical pill, and the dance always restarts and gets amplyfied.
The only democratic means of runing the affairs of a political community is via election by sortition. The election of representatives in competing elections is an aristocratic approach. Once you get refreshes every 2/6 years, they will clean the legislation and start to strangle the entrenched interests/powers - unless of course they are overthrown and a more "appropriate" system is put in place. Even sortition can be corrupted, by corrupting the algorithms for picking the SIN numbers of elected representatives. Or if people have moved into a sociopathic mode of being, and then the majority of those randomly elected will consider their own interest, and it will be like winning the lottery. Atomization of society pushed by the consumer capitalism has oppened that Pandora's Box. While a politician famously said, holding on her little purse: "There is no such thing as a society...".
Then the hope will only be from outside, from the Barbarians...
It will always be a struggle. But people need to understand the problems in the first place, need to understand what could be solutions for fixing systems, and need to be desperate due to hunger, etc. in order to act in mass against TPTB.
The Mamelukes were definitely another good example. As is the current case in Myanmar.
Haven't read Empire but sounds like I should. Thanks for the recommendation.
Your point about sortition is a good one and one I had not considered before. In fact, I'd never paid much attention to the concept until just now when you suggested it. The limiting of our candidate choices by political party structure is definitely one of the major problems preventing reform. What do you think would be necessary to get to it? I don't see it happening without a major upheaval — and yes probably due to barbarians, whoever you consider them to be.
Much of the country is still in the problem identification phase of change, if they've even begun. It's hard to focus on both problem identification and solutions when you're on a hamster wheel trying to keep yourself and your family financially stable. The most major revolutions of modern times have only come after tribulation and hunger, e.g. Russia in 1917. I hope we can stave off problems before we get to that point. But WWIII would most likely push us that direction, and that's the direction we seem to be heading.
I do not think that in our world there is a country where the political class and its backers would accept sortition as an electoral method. Thus, the silver lining might appear only after a horrible tragey or series of tragedies. And prior to that there needs to be a relentless message from the grassroots and understanding from the population that a different electoral system is absolutely needed.
The two Davids, in their magnificent "The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity" argue convincingly that sortition was likely the mode of decision in most of humans prehistory.
While Simone Weil has provided a rebbutal for political parties. But a fun, tongue in cheeck argument for sortition you will find here:
https://www.resilience.org/stories/2024-03-22/invasion-of-the-body-snatchers-can-sortition-save-us-from-the-zombies-of-extinction/
The date you are searching for in the 9th paragraph is likely November 22, 1963.
That's definitely where I'd place my bet
I find it amusing that you write this excellent piece and then shy away from the obvious solution, that you - for understandable reasons - don't lay out.
In fact you spelled out the solution yourself:
"Because, despite what your kindergarten teacher probably said, violence can in fact solve problems. It’s the main power from which all others are derived."
The obvious solution is violence. You will find plenty of examples that will fit perfectly into your history lineup. Unfortunately that is not a solution a democrat can accept, but acceptance or not, that is what history will dictate at the end regardless, whether by outside or inside forces.
I'm glad you understand the reasons I didn't specifically lay it out. Things are shaky enough as it is. I don't want to be the one calling for more trouble. I also don't need a bigger target on my back.
Additionally, I assume my readers are intelligent enough to be able to draw their own conclusions. I've seen a pretty big change in opinions in the last ~48 hours, I'll tell you that much.