In a 2022 virtual appearance at the University of Toronto, Canadian Margaret Atwood talked about the future of democracy. She warned about the “deliberate creation of chaos” by those who prefer authoritarianism. Financial Times editor Roula Khalaf said Atwood’s appearance was part of an editorial initiative to provide expert commentary about the fragile state of democracy in 2024.
A 2022 article in Psychology Today is worth attention. The author is the late Charles M. Johnston, MD, psychiatrist, author, and futurist…
Much has been written about Bonhoeffer and many English translations of his works are available. One that caught my eye was on stupidity. It seems appropriate to review with a vile man likely to be the Republican candidate for President of the USA. If Trump wins, it may be the final Presidential election but that seems not to bother at least 40 percent of the electorate. That same political performer inspired right-wing extremists in Canada and with Stephen Harper’s direction, helped a major political party disavow rational conservatism and common sense.
Yale political scientist and anthropologist James C. Scott, author of the whimsical 2013 book Two Cheers for Anarchism, suggested pursuit of justice demands occasional insubordination and disregard for rules. He described “…an anarchist sensibility that celebrates the local knowledge, common sense, and creativity of ordinary people. The result is a kind of handbook on constructive anarchism that challenges us to radically reconsider the value of hierarchy in public and private life, from schools and workplaces to retirement homes and government itself.”
In my years of political observation, I have come to realize that elected officials individually have little opportunity to influence public policy. At senior levels of government, power has concentrated in the offices of the first minister. In local governments and school boards, In local governments and school boards, power is held largely by professional administrators. Public input is tolerated by the power holders, but not welcomed…
President Biden vetoed a measure that would have blocked fiduciary retirement fund managers from considering climate change, corporate governance and other factors when making pension investments…
Co-authors Mariana Mazzucato, Professor of economics at University College London, and economist Rosie Collington think democracy is endangered by the growing involvement of consultants in public policy development and implementation.
Democracy is a system of government not immune to challenges and threats. In recent years, there have been concerns about the health of democracy in a number of countries, as well as the rise of populist movements and strongman leaders who challenge democratic institutions and norms. Additionally, issues such as disinformation and foreign interference in elections have raised concerns about the integrity of democratic processes.
The activities of groups and individuals promoting preferred candidate David Eby were acceptable, while those working for Anjali Appadurai were, in the words of Elizabeth cull, “engaged in serious improper conduct.”
Fourteen percent of countries are described as full democracies. These states are home to fewer than ten percent of world population. More than one-third of the world’s population live under authoritarian rule…
Government by the people for the people is more myth than reality in Canada and in the politically troubled country south of here. We cannot talk about our governments being representative democracies when a majority of the proxies we elect rank interests of their parties and their sponsors above interests of their electors.
We will wake up to the realization we the voters no longer have the ability to shape our governing bodies through elections. The slippage is abundantly clear already. Big Money has run off with our governing bodies…
Far from being “broken,” our political system is doing precisely what it’s designed to do. It wasn’t built to deliver results in the public interest or to foster policy innovation, nor does it demand accountability for failure to do so. Instead, most of the rules that shape day-to-day behavior and outcomes have been perversely optimized—or even expressly created—by and for the benefit of the entrenched duopoly at the center of our political system…
“If you always do what you’ve always done, you always get what you’ve always gotten.” That was the advice of Jessie Potter, the featured speaker at the opening of the 1981 Woman to Woman conference.
“Politics has become so expensive that it takes a lot of money even to be defeated.” Even with contribution limits, generous as they are, government remains biased toward serving interests of prosperous citizens…
From John Macfarlane’s Editor’s Note at The Walrus Magazine: THE SOLILOQUY Paddy Chayefsky wrote for the character Howard Beale in the 1976 film Network still resonates today: “…I want you to get […]
Corporations Have No Use for Borders, Chris Hedges, Truthdig “What happened to Canada? It used to be the country we would flee to if life in the United States became unpalatable. No […]
New York, NY. Monday, October 3, 2011—Today, award-winning journalist Amy Goodman announced that a final settlement has been reached in a federal lawsuit brought by Goodman and Democracy Now! producers Sharif Abdel […]
Section 2(b) of the Charter states that “Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms: … freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication.” Everyone, […]
From Ralph Deline’s blog Read My Mind: “On 4 May a rally drew approximately two thousand students, many merely curious onlookers. National Guard officers ordered the protesters to disburse, shooting tear gas […]
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