Northern Dragon

… life in the twilight years of modern-day democracy …

Tag Archive for ‘manipulation’

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A Tale of Two Cookies – Economics 101

Today, I am following up with a new post in a series, which is delving into the foundations of modern-day capitalism. We have already seen how the accumulation of wealth is built into the very structure of the system, and how the incessant call for privatisation – far from being a way of making the public service sector more efficient – is generally merely an excuse for further concentration of wealth and power. Now, let us dig one level further down again. Into the world of the science behind it all…

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The Price of Democracy

Democracy was invented by the Greeks. But their philosophers had very grave doubts about it and generally did not believe that it could be brought to work. Socrates explained it like this: Imagine an election between two candidates: a doctor and a sweet shop owner. The sweet shop owner would say of his rival:“Look, this person here has worked many evils on you. He hurts you, gives you bitter potions […]

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The Numbers Game

Democracy is a numbers game. The rules are as simple as they get: one person, one vote. It’s as basic as that. So it naturally follows that whichever faction has the most people, is the faction with the greatest power, yes? That was the conundrum which faced the major European powers in the years following the French Revolution. To ensure the stability of their lands – not to mention the […]

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