Democracy is out

The political system IN - OUT fashion list has spoken: Democracy is OUT.

This article in Der Spiegel is such an interesting concoction, we take the time to have a go at it.

Much of the content deals with Mr. Bell, who teaches political philosophy in China. The article's author takes a dig at Germany vs. the rest of the world by saying that Mr. Bell's views might well get him a place on the watchlist of the German domestic spy service but that Mr. Bell is somewhat of a rock star in the rest of the world.

Okay, here is the news: getting on the watchlist is not a reverse badge of honor, thank you. Being on the list does not mean you have anything worthwhile to say either. Nor does it mean that anybody other than the guy who put you on the list and his boss have any interest in you.

The underpinning of the fashion statement is: Western democracy has failed.
If you read some more, you will find that they talk about the US. So, Western democracy equals the American system.

According to Mr. Bell, as relayed by the Spiegel writer, the political elite should be selected based on their intellectual abilities and based on moral standards. Good job, like the Nazis without the master race card, or the visionary capitalists of the early 1900s without the Jesus card.
The "new" paradigm is inspired by the teachings of Confucius and in part inspires what the Chinese Party tries to do and "needs to improve on".

Then there are the usual suspects: lack of long term thinking in Western democracy, elections are good at the local level (mistakes are of no major impact), the US is nothing but "the land of lawyers", and on and on.

Towards the end, Mr. Bell again with, "yes, a fair justice system and human rights are important, but not being poor is also a human right."

And the final note by Mr. Bell: "20 years ago, hearing somebody talk like me now would have really upset me."

And this, dear readers, is what the K-Landnews team regards as truly enlightening. Mr. Bell and most of the other new critics have been on a journey from true believers to a more tempered view.

To us normal folks, who have not had much reason to believe in the superiority of any system, it is, pardon me, f****ing obvious that not being poor is a human right.

Just because you regard American democracy no longer with the blue eyed admiration of yore, does not mean you should get rid of it either.
And there are more democratic democracies under the bigger umbrella of "Western democracy".

If you want to be an iconoclast, for God's sake or Confucius' sake, start with the simple fact that the two plutocracies you are comparing are eerily similar in many ways.

The resident philosopher at the K-Landnews had this to say: all the Paul to Saul conversions just piss me of.

One more thing: We'd love to help improve the party but could not find application forms. We think provincial governor would be a good fit intellectually and morally. Or it this a don't call us, we'll call you deal?