Is Putin's Majoritarian Democracy the Alt-Right's Fast Track to Fascism in America?

by Nomad

In the hands of a corrupt leader, majoritarian democracy can be a very dangerous thing. Russian president Putin is all the proof the world needs. 

A Dangerous Idea in the Wrong Hands

Most Americans take a positive view of democracy. Everybody wants to live in a democracy. Yet, it might surprise a lot of people to learn that, in its purest form, the democratic idea can actually be a dangerous thing.
The term, majoritarian democracy, for example, refers to a democratic form of government based upon majority rule of a society's citizens.
Pedro Schwartz, a professor in the Department of Economics at the University San Pablo in Madrid, explains:

Many modern constitutions proclaim that sovereignty is ultimately vested on the people. In that case, the power of the people must also be divided if liberty is to endure. Democracy can therefore not be defined as the rule by majority vote. Neither does it imply that the vote of the majority is "an authoritative expression of what is right".

Strictly speaking, majoritarian democracy is defined as the concept that anything more than a 51 percent share of the popular vote entitles the election winner to rule without interference.
For far right-wing parties, who claim this to be no-nonsense democracy, it has proved to be an extremely useful concept to justify their agenda.

Sanity Sunday- Please Don't Go by Barcelona

by Nomad

This Sanity Sunday song is by the Seattle-based group Barcelona. It is here coupled with the view of Japan's Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium. It certainly provides a few soothing minutes.
Lord knows, we can use it.

I dedicate this song to the outgoing president- Barack Obama to whom we owe a heartfelt thank-you for 8 years of hard and largely unappreciated work.

We are definitely going to miss you in a hundred ways we can't now even begin to imagine.

For what it is worth, this song was listed in their top 10 relaxing songs by researchers at Mindlab International, an independent research consultancy. (Legitimate or not, I can't tell you.)

From the Archives: The Rise of The Great Society in the Summer of 65

by Nomad

A post from the blog archive offers a look back at a critical time in American history- the summer of 1965.

As most of you know Nomadic Politics has been around for about 6 years. In that duration, I have built up quite a large archive.

Not every post is outstanding, I admit. Some of them are out-dated. Given what we have seen from President-elect Trump, -posts about the problems with Mitt Romney back in 2012 now seem hopelessly naive.
Some of them have subsequently been proved wrong. Many of them I forget ever writing.

However, a few of them I am proud of. Most of those types of posts deal with a part of history that has been forgotten or somewhat overshadowed.
My fondness for those posts isn't based on personal vanity, or any artful writing skill. I know my limitations in that regard.

It's usually because, at some point in my research, I made a discovery or a connection that turned a new light on the subject. Or I found something (or somebody) that ought to be remembered.
because the information can perhaps go a long way in helping us understand how we got where we are today.

For all those reasons, in the coming year from time to time, I will highlight one of the past blog posts with a small introduction. I hope you find them interesting.

In August 2012, Nomadic Politics cranked up its trusty time machine and zipped back to the summer of 1965. That post was entitled "The Great Society, Medicare and the Summer of ‘65"

As the introduction of that post notes:

The summer of 1965 was one of many critical moments of American history. The Great Society, President Johnson's ambitious policy to overhaul the country, became a reality. However, at the same moment, a new movement of a different kind was emerging. It was a kind of backlash that would take 15 years to mature into the conservative movement.

Over a half-century has passed and yet the echoes of that time are still very much with us today.

Whenever you hear a politician (or a president) using the phrase, "Take America Back" it's important to know your history. Then, you can decide whether America really needs to go back to the days before that summer fifty years ago.

Russia Direct: The Rebirth of Journalism or Just Another Cynical Putin Ploy?

by Nomad

Monologues vs. Dialogues

Here's an interesting podcast about the Russian government attempts to promote fair and balanced journalism inside America. Or maybe it's just a new Russian offensive against the West.

The motto of Russia Direct is "turning monologues into dialogues" and seeks to reach out to "well-educated Americans."
The target audience is Americans who are "skeptical" and open-minded. Cynics would say that those are precisely the kind of people that would be most accepting of Russian propaganda. Especially in light of the election of a president of the US is casting aspersion about US-based intelligence agencies and news sources that do not match exactly his own way of thinking.

Founded in 2013, Kremlin-financed Russia Direct features original reporting which, depending on your perspective either represents the possibility of breathing new life in journalism or just another attempt by the Russian government to subvert the West with phony journalism.
(Not a particularly rare commodity in the West as it is.)

This Social Experiment Gives a Fresh Look at Empathy

by Nomad

This is a video experiment was produced by a Lithuanian website. The site is a kind of online handbook on how to deal with hate speech not only online but also in the mass media, and in real life situations.

The experiment setup was fairly standard for a "prank." Various people, all non-actors, all Lithuanians with English language backgrounds- were invited to a casting call for a commercial. They were clueless that the scenario or the hidden cameras. The unsuspecting targets were then given a simple task- translating an online message from Lithuanian into English.

That's enough background information. Watch and see what happens next.