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Apr 23

Critiques of Democracy

by Chris Billows in Political Ponderings 0 comments tags: Corruption of Democracy, Human Condition, Political Opinion
Months ago, I was doing some Google searches on different philosophical tangents and one of them was “Critiques of Democracy” and I stumbled upon an intriguing website called Promethea. What caught my interest was its statement on its notes page that “all things should be examined according to their impact on life, and popularity by itself is not enough endorsement.” Wow! That struck home and made so much sense. Democracy is not about rationally evaluating what matters or counts most, but about simply giving power to people who are not necessarily capable of measuring or judging competently. Instead voters resort to treating democracy as popularity contests. The site is extensive and I personally find the reference to a mythical character of Prometheus to be very cool. It speaks about Individualism but appears to understand that there is no such thing as a self-made person for we are dependent on the sacrifices of others. Its anti-collectivist stance appears to be a bit too rigid – if individuals have freedom, then surely they have the freedom to join (and leave) a collective. Its something I will peruse over the next year and write a more extensive summary. Check it out… Promethea.org

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Jan 22

The Fairy Tale of Obama’s Inauguration

by Chris Billows in Political Ponderings 0 comments tags: Foolishness, Political Opinion
When Barack Obama became the 44th president of the United States yesterday, I was and still am amazed over all the pomp, circumstance, and glitter that accompanies the presidential rite of passage. It’s a spectacle that stands in stark contrast to Canada’s celebration of a new political leader. New prime ministers are simply sworn into office with little more than a low-key ceremony with the Governor General at Rideau Hall, attended by a handful of dignitaries and family members. Inauguration day of the U.S. President is a grand affair, with the swearing-in at the majestic Capitol, an inspirational speech to kick off the new presidency, a packed parade to the White House along Pennsylvania Avenue and then a series of star-studded dusk-to-dawn balls. With such a grand, awe-inspiring celebration, I would expect to see a king being crowned. Yet the United States went to war with Britain to dispose of the monarchy and the entitlement of royalty. It is just pure irony that Americans celebrate and treat their President and the First Family like fairy tale royalty. And just like the fairy tale kings of old, Obama’s rise to the top is a real fairy tale in the making. For […]

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Jan 05

Book Review: Small is Beautiful by E.F.Schumacher

by Chris Billows in Political Ponderings 0 comments tags: Foolishness, Free Enterprise, Human Condition
It remains painfully obvious that this book is written by a crank. Only a crank would tell us that we need to rethink our consumption patterns, how we manage our economy, and our relationship with our environment. Going against conventional thinking is pretty fashionable today, but to do so in 1973 and still be so relevant is testimony of a crank who knew what he was talking about. E.F. Schumacher wrote this book in response to what he saw as the quickening and centralizing nature of modern society. He saw governments and businesses getting bigger and losing their essential and natural sense of scale, which is human friendly or simply “small”. Thus prompting the title of the book. It was through this book that Schumacher is credited with influencing green economic thinking from the 70s and afterward. He articulated the fundamental question about growth: “How much further growth will be possible, since infinite growth in a fine environment is an obvious impossibility”. Such thinking was radical, yet not socialist. Instead his thinking was the basis of humanistic, or human-centred economics. This book helped shift the tired and largely irrelevant debate of Left wing vs Right wing economic politics or big […]

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Dec 23

Ideology: Scourge of the Modern World

by Chris Billows in Political Ponderings 0 comments tags: Foolishness, Human Condition, Human History
The Economist posted an article, Why Wars Happen, explaining that the cause of most conflicts in the world during 2008 is due to ideological differences. This reinforces my conviction and past blog posts, Ideology vs Philosophy and Confessions of a Recovering Ideologue. that ideology in all of its forms is the scourge of the modern world. The research about world conflict was conducted by the Heidelberg Institute for International Conflict Research, and has some pretty amazing information there. Does my criticism of ideology mean I am anti-thinking? No, I would instead argue that ideological thinking is an oxymoron. Ideology is a mental disorder that afflicts politics, religion, culture (political correctness), and business. To be ideological means to not think and to abdicate one’s rational powers. To truly be a thinking person one must be philosophical and open to new information.

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Dec 14

A Voters & Democracy Mismatch

by Chris Billows in Political Ponderings 0 comments tags: Change of Mind, Political Opinion, Poltical Party Corruption
The problem we just had in Ottawa is more than just lying and ambitious politicians. It also has to do with our democratic system. Polls (if you believe them, I personally am skeptical) say that Canadians want to elect their governments. They do not agree with the Liberal-NDP-BQ coalition taking power from the Conservatives despite having more seats and more votes. Huh? That hardly makes sense. More Canadians voted for non-Conservative parties than the Conservatives. You would think that they would be happy with the coalition. Yet, I read that Canadians believe they should elect their governments and not have them formed by politicians. The problem is that Canadians are fully ignorant about their democratic institutions. They have never voted for governments. They vote for individuals who belong to a political party who may be able to form the government. Its kind of like how Americans vote for their president – they actually vote for Electors who in turn vote for the President. There is an added layer of democratic administration in both situations. When we vote for any MP, MLA, or City Counsellor, they are just a piece in the puzzle. They are not the government. That question is […]

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Dec 03

A Pack of Lying Dogs

by Chris Billows in Political Ponderings 0 comments tags: Political Opinion, Poltical Party Corruption
Well, I have been fascinated by the scandal in Ottawa with the Conservative Government being on the cusp of being overthrown by the Liberal-NDP-BQ coalition. It has been riveting to see Harper stick it to them and then see their reaction. Its like watching people poke each others eyes out. Sickening and riveting at the same time. What sticks in my eye is the complete lack of integrity our politicians are demonstrating. Nobody has escaped this scandal unscathed with the ironic exception of the BQ. They at least are consistent in their goals – get as much for Quebec as they can. The media has unearthed how the Conservatives, Liberals, and NDP have absolutely no credibility to protect Canada’s interests. The Liberals and NDP have no problem joining with the BQ now, while the former Conservative Party operating as the Canadian Alliance courted the BQ back when it was the opposition. Each accuses the other of betraying Canada. The hypocrisy demonstrates why politicians are so lowly regarded. Its as messy as a dog’s breakfast. The hyperbole and vitriolic positions taken by each party also shows how the institution of political parties fails to serve the nation’s citizens. They are ideological, […]
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