MetaFilter posts tagged with US and democracy

George Soros on the Way Forward

kliuless — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 19:42:21 -0800

Soros lectures
You can slog through the video, but I preferred the transcripts 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 + to me, it started off rather abstract* (admittedly on his part) and slow (covered ground; note soros tag) and doesn't really get interesting until 3 -- "The event that forced me to thoroughly reconsider the concept of open society was the re-election of President Bush..." [altho he can get a bit arrogant ("even I, who discovered—or invented—reflexivity, failed to recognize...")] -- and gets better from there... so i'd skip to that if you're so inclined :P kinda previously... and btw, as a bonus, also see... - Why Do We Hate? - What Makes a Nation Rich? - How Much Is Enough? - What the U.S. Long Bond Market Is Telling Us (cf.) - The G20 in 2050 (viz.) - Rare earth: The New Great Game [1,2,3,4,5,6] --- *in fleshing out his concept of reflexivity he goes thru (among other things and in other words) descriptive vs. prescriptive (or normative) theories, instrumental rationality and empiricism, false thinking and truthiness, the law of unintended consequences, &c. so if you're into that sort of stuff... have at it!

"Many-Rule" is kind of vague.

anotherpanacea — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 06:34:50 -0800

ResetDOC asks: "What is democracy?" Is it popular sovereignty? Is it a formal concept: "one man, one vote"? An imperial ideology? Dissent? Is it possible in first-past-the-post elections? Can we know for sure?

Pirates' Rule

MetaMonkey — Sun, 06 Aug 2006 12:42:56 -0800

The Golden Age of Piracy [video/audio] in the Atlantic peaked as the War of Spanish Succession ended. Piracy was a natural progression for the privateers [2] and buccaneers who had lost their sanctioned prey, and faced little resistance due to a lack of strong government in the majority of the American Colonies. Meanwhile captured naval seamen and slaves often willingly joined with pirates, or fled brutal treatment for the egalitarianism of piracy. This motley crew of motives were united in pirate democracy, laid down in a pirate code, preparing the way for democracy in the United States. But as the popularity of pirate life and pirate utopias grew strong, they became a pest to be mercilessly crushed by colonial opposition and the British navy.

Someone steal a Diebold and reverse engineer pls tia

Pretty_Generic — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 19:25:03 -0800

At this challenging time for President Bush, let us reminisce about the system that elected him. Will the next election be different? Do you want it to be? What are you going to do about it?

No Race-Neutral Racism: Targeting African-Americans Is as Racist as it Looks

y2karl — Sat, 30 Oct 2004 14:56:50 -0800

Racially-Based Suppression of the African-American Vote: The Role It May Play in the Upcoming Presidential Election What exactly is racially-based vote suppression? Simply defined, it is the targeting of potential voters, based on their race, in an attempt to suppress the exercise of their right to vote for the candidate of their choice.

Take my ballot away out of my cold, dead hands

dhartung — Sat, 23 Oct 2004 14:01:46 -0800

160 observers couldn't monitor the election in Bexar County Texas, let alone the whole US. -- National Journal's Charlie Cook. A hundred and sixty, though, isn't the half of it. [plenty more inside]

Blowback: The Cost And Consequences of American Empire plus War And Conflict In The Post-Cold War, Post-9/11 Era

y2karl — Thu, 13 Mar 2003 01:43:05 -0800

Chalmers Johnson is an provocative proponent of the American Empire theory, indeed. Here are excerpts from his Blow Back: The Cost And Consequences of American Empire

I heard Johnson interviewed on Episode II, War And Conflict In The Post-Cold War, Post-9/11 Era of The Whole Wide World

The Cold War and its central conflict - the physical and ideological battles between the United States, the Soviet Union and their proxy states - imposed a certain logic and consistency on the world. Take that away and add the bloody wars in the Balkans, Africa and the Middle East in the ‘90s as well as the terror attacks and warnings of more recent times and you get a very confused picture of a world at war. Is this breaking storm in Iraq about oil, democracy, freedom, empire, culture, water, diamonds, modernizing Islam or nation building in the Middle East? Some, one or all of these things?

It was an excellent program and well worth your listen, either by RA now or mp3 later. (From listening to the radio)

dhartung — Thu, 11 Apr 2002 22:51:59 -0800

Venezuela's Chavez deposed with the military claiming control for now. The end of a sometimes cringe-inducingly entertaining era. What next? Civilian constitutional rule restored by lunchtime, or not? Will the strike end, allowing oil exports to resume?

cell divide — Tue, 20 Nov 2001 10:58:28 -0800

It's the Democracy, Stupid Quick hit from Middle East expert Thomas Friedman on why democracy matters in the Middle East, and by extension why democracy-building is one of the US's best weapons there. Starts out with a news quiz: "Name the second-largest Muslim community in the world. Iran? Wrong. Pakistan? Wrong. Saudi Arabia? Wrong." (NYT link)