The Democracy of the founding fathers was Greek Democracy, predicated upon a slave society, and restricted to only the elite. This is the society we live in today, even with our reforms towards direct representation. The system is inherently biased towards the election of elites and against the representation of the masses. Hamilton called it “faction” when the working class got together and demanded better conditions, and mechanisms were built in (which still exist to this day) that serve to ensure the continued dominance of the elite over the masses. The suffering of the many is intentional. The opulence of the wealthy is also. This is the intended outcome.
It is not needed, nor fitting here [in discussing the Civil War] that a general argument should be made in favor of popular institutions; but there is one point, with its connections, not so hackneyed as most others, to which I ask a brief attention. It is the effect to place capital on an equal footing with, if not above, labor, in the structure of government. It is assumed that labor is available only in connection with capital; that nobody labors unless somebody else, owning capital, somehow by the use of it induces him to labor. This assumed, it is next considered whether it is best that capital shall hire laborers, and thus induce them to work by their own consent, or buy them, and drive them to it without their consent. Having proceeded thus far, it is naturally concluded that all laborers are either hired laborers or what we call slaves. And further, it is assumed that whoever is once a hired laborer is fixed in that condition for life.
Now, there is no such relation between capital and labor as assumed, nor is there any such thing as a free man being fixed for life in the condition of a hired laborer. Both these assumptions are false, and all inferences from them are groundless.
Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration.
Hello all. Happy Friday the 13th for those who haven’t crossed into Saturday yet.
Recommended readings: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/syr/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_SYR_SPM.pdf
Hopeful glint: A video by Andrewism. https://youtu.be/j42RbUjofm0
Recommended Readings:
That means fuck ECOWAS as a tool of the oppressors also. Critical support for ~~every~~ most coup(s) in Africa, and for the rights of Africans to demand the French and US militaries leave their country.
Critical Readings:
Recommended readings:
I’d be more interested in if they’re doing proper rewilding and reforesting, or if this is more of the same monoculture tree farm crap we’ve seen for 20 years.
Edit: Looks like that’s exactly what this article is about. They’re trying to do proper reforesting, but they’re finding they can only get a few species, mainly timber woods. Sounds about right.
This sounds like some right libertarian capitalism apologia, is that what it is meant to be?