3 thoughts on “Is Democratic Self-Governance Incompatible with Austerity?

  1. This is the problem of creating a government that encourages dependency in the first place — then when it no longer has the means to provide, things fall apart.

    I wonder if it’s wrong to cut when times are bad, would you agree to cut when times are good? No, when times are good, the answer is that it can’t be cut back because that would send us back to bad times. This is the problem of a bigger government than we can afford. So we continue down the road of unsustainability until it completely breaks down and then no one’s getting a check and no police are coming!

    1. FMSN,

      You are right. the problem is creating a government that encourages dependency in the first place – dependency on a financialized private sector where both individual citizens and the elected bodies of government are held captive and enslaved by an untitled nobility and a self-crowned, heritable monarchy. In such a case, as we have now, we no longer enjoy self-governance but are hopelessly trapped in a system of Neo-Feudalism.

      Re-creating our government to one that abdicates its role of securing rights and liberties to a predatory private sector is the problem. Depending on the private sector to secure rights and liberties while its own interest is the diminishment and erosion of rights and liberties is the problem. When we, as a society, cease to be governed by our own needs, but by the single-minded desires of a ruling class, we then have a problem indeed.

      You’re operating from a false premise that “cuts” are central to the question. They are not. Revenue is central to the question. There is nothing unsustainable about government if the people we elect operate with sustaining government in mind, i.e. by adopting sound long term policies that prioritize the public interest. If we do that our government can, you know, plan accordingly with wisdom and foresight using empiricism and science as a guide – as was intended by those who created this government over 200 years ago. When we have anti-government perverters who attempt to demolish government from the inside out (i.e. present day Conservative subversives and traitors to the public trust) that’s when we run afoul and end up in unsustainable circumstances.

  2. IMNSHO, “Democratic Governance” requires the utmost austerity: the supervised allocation of resources according to the most need and/or best use. This as opposed to capitalism, which offers the hope of winning everything regardless of need and/or best use. Thus the “American Dream” becomes not such a democratic pursuit. The “American Way” would seem to me achieving a balance which offers hope and best use to all honorable citizens. In any case, austerity would definitely be required.

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