Although I have implied it in previous posts, I’ve not actually specifically stated that we live in an Upside Down World. What I mean by this is that, for example, our history is the history of the decline of humanity, not of its progress, that what we consider genius is sickness, and the most able people are not in academic institutions, but living life in normal society and likely to have been classed as non-academic etc., etc… Rather than going for one long post on the subject, I intend to back it up with many instances of this upside down-ness as I run across them in daily life.
Actually there is a lot more that I am thinking out just now, and more that I am doing as a matter of personal development, which nevertheless demonstrates aspects of my thinking. I will therefore record my explorations of my world view as and when they occur, stimulated by what is going on around me, as a journal. Each post, therefore, will be of the nature of a journal entry.
Democracy is for Dummies
Currently I am reading a book about democracy. The underlying assumption in this book, and one which is used very commonly, is that the development of democratic systems of government (as opposed to, say, authoritarian forms of government) indicates that society is progressing. I think that this attitude toward democracy is another example of an Upside Down World that I mentioned in a recent post and that therefore the growth of democracy, far from being an indicator of progress, indicates the degeneration of society.
In the first film of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Gandalf visits Saruman to seek advice. He discovers that Saruman has allied himself with the enemy Sauron, the creator of the Ring of Power. They fight, Saruman wins, and he imprisons Gandalf. Just before Gandalf is rescued by the eagles, Saruman makes one last, futile attempt to persuade Gandalf to change sides. As he makes his escape, Gandalf issues a warning to Saruman: “There is only one Lord of the Rings, and he does NOT share power.”
Sharing power is the key. Like Sauron, rulers do not share power – unless they have no option. However, as I have suggested in earlier posts, people have succumbed to an addiction to power and that as a result, their minds are degrading. Thus, where once there existed rulers who could wield absolute power (Alexander the Great, Napoleon, Adolf Hitler, Stalin), minds have deteriorated to such an extent that people no longer have the mental capacity to do so. This is the origin of power sharing.
Democracy is based on the sharing of power. As such it is, in fact, symptomatic of the loss of mental functions due to power addiction, which also explains why democracy, until recently, has been a relatively rare form of government.