Here’s a little fable for you. A powerful man was unhappy with the rulers of his country and decided he wanted power for himself. So he gathered together all his supporters and formed them into a tightly knit organization. He fired them up with traditions, objectives, slogans, propaganda and a set of ideals opposed to…
Month: April 2018
Politics
Simplicity and Democracy: Worlds Apart
by renaissanceadmin • • 0 Comments
Doesn’t it drive you nuts when you get to an airport security gate or a border and find out that the rules have been changed? Again! No, it’s not a mistake or bad bureaucracy. The people who spend their lives dealing with lawbreakers have learned that keeping laws the same gives criminals time to find…
Politics
FPTP: Stacking the Deck on Electoral Reform
by renaissanceadmin • • 1 Comment
There are many talented and experienced people in all shades of the political spectrum, but you can’t help but suspect that the ones who have gained and kept power all these years will top the heap. For voters, this ability is a double-edged sword. While we are supposed to be trusting these people’s ability…
Politics
PR & FPTP: Let’s Talk Accountability
by renaissanceadmin • • 1 Comment
Read The Propaganda Carefully In the Vancouver Sun article on Monday, the FPTP bloc made a great deal of hay about the fact that, with Proportional Representation, an “overwhelming number of representatives…were appointed by their political parties…They were not elected by geographical ridings where they are accountable to voters.” This is clever writing, because…
Politics
What If They’re Talking About Me?
by renaissanceadmin • • 0 Comments
A big article on the Op Ed page in the Vancouver Sun Monday by the First Past The Post bloc, laying out their platform. It’s a pretty straightforward statement of their usual arguments, which gives us a chance to look at them in detail. Over the next few days, I will analyze their planks…
Politics
Proportional Representation VS the Ruling Elite
by renaissanceadmin • • 1 Comment
1100 AD: Election by Force According to the ancient bards, in the Early Middle Ages it was possible for a knight to challenge another knight to single combat, and the winner took all: the castle, the land, the serfs. The ultimate in elitism; the action of one man decides who rules everyone. 1970 AD:…
Politics
Carrot and Stick Democracy
by renaissanceadmin • • 1 Comment
The main disadvantage to being a bully is the constant need to maintain your position. For a bully, a fluid social situation is trouble, because you have to be continually restoring your control by acts of aggression. That’s why authoritarian types like structured societies. It is much better for a bully to work in a…