At the crossroads

Nowadays, it is finally becoming apparent to many, both intellectuals and non-intellectuals, that democracy is not all that it is cracked up to be. It is not a guarantee of freedom or equality. And it is anything but a guarantee of economic security. The backlash we are seeing around the Western world... from the UK to the US, from Turkey to France... raises a shrill warning as to what may come if democracy is not replaced with a better political system soon.

Democracy thrives as the political system eminently suited to capitalism. But capitalism has proven itself a boon only to an ever-diminishing, wealthy elite. Progressive people, including humanists, must stop clinging to the fiction that giving everyone the vote (within a relatively liberal scope) is intrinsically healthy. The fact is that most people don't care to vote and might not do so, while most of those who actually do vote are uninterested and ill-suited to make choices for society as a whole.

I've mentioned the solution before, and I'll no doubt say it again. The only way I see to maintain a healthy and united society is PROUT (Progressive Utilization Theory).

Hypocrite-In-Chief

The mind boggles at what the immature and deranged Donald Trump has done. The mind boggles at the possible consequences of his military adventurism.

No humane person would condone the use of chemical weapons against the civilians of one's own country (or any country)... or even against the non-civilians. But who gave the president of the United States the right to invade another "sovereign" nation? Who appointed the United States as a world government and Donald Trump as the world dictator?

Trump has disqualified himself from acting on the world stage as anything but a negotiator for American interests. He openly takes a stand of "America first", so he clearly does not represent anyone other than Americans. So what gives a man who would not let Syrian children enter the USA as refugees the right to send missiles into Syria when those same children suffer from the entirely foreseeable security risks that Trump's own policies tend to exacerbate?

Even if we leave aside the numerous times that Trump has flip-flopped on the question of military action in Syria, he still stands out as utterly unworthy and unqualified to make a decision about anything outside the United States. The thought of this man holding life-and-death powers is truly chilling.