Democracy And Supermind
It's hard to argue with the goal of democracy, which is to set things up for the benefit of the population at large. It's easiest to define democracy in terms of what it isn't. It is not tyranny, not slavery, not corrupt or injustice. The idea is as old as the Biblical prophets but attempts to implement it are very modern. There is no reason to assume they will succeed.
The problem comes with the assumption that a group of people organized as a democracy can make the best decisions by somehow "putting their heads together" or voting. The connection between the goals of democracy and the means is so confused in people's minds that many assume that "voting" is virtually synonymous with "democracy".
A bit of research will quickly dispell this idea. In fact, elections are a mud-slinging match specifically intended to distract voters from issues that actually affect them.
As long as we have the idea that good decisions can be made through the ballot box, we are vulnerable to emergent super-minds that make very bad decisions. Decisions not in the best interest of the general public.
The emergent "core" of support for Donald Trump in the last US election is a case in point. That core was conjured out of nothing - cobbled together with bumper stickers, unfocused anger, and empty promises. Yet, that supermind is now busy ripping apart the world's largest "democracy"
We are beginning to see the importance of superminds, although we lack the vocabulary to describe them. The Trump "core" cannot be described as the sum total of a few million deluded individuals.
To a great extent, it came into existence through the Russian campaign to "fan the flames" of existing discontent, resulting in a bonfire that surprised everyone. Putin and company understand the supermind but perhaps misunderstand the fact that a supermind is not under the control of those who conjure it into existence.
As Amartya Sen points out, superminds (whose breath of life is identity) are dangerous and violent.
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Some previous thoughts on democracy here. That discussion would have been greatly helped if it took into account Sen's ideas about identity. Identity politics is poison.
The problem comes with the assumption that a group of people organized as a democracy can make the best decisions by somehow "putting their heads together" or voting. The connection between the goals of democracy and the means is so confused in people's minds that many assume that "voting" is virtually synonymous with "democracy".
A bit of research will quickly dispell this idea. In fact, elections are a mud-slinging match specifically intended to distract voters from issues that actually affect them.
As long as we have the idea that good decisions can be made through the ballot box, we are vulnerable to emergent super-minds that make very bad decisions. Decisions not in the best interest of the general public.
The emergent "core" of support for Donald Trump in the last US election is a case in point. That core was conjured out of nothing - cobbled together with bumper stickers, unfocused anger, and empty promises. Yet, that supermind is now busy ripping apart the world's largest "democracy"
We are beginning to see the importance of superminds, although we lack the vocabulary to describe them. The Trump "core" cannot be described as the sum total of a few million deluded individuals.
To a great extent, it came into existence through the Russian campaign to "fan the flames" of existing discontent, resulting in a bonfire that surprised everyone. Putin and company understand the supermind but perhaps misunderstand the fact that a supermind is not under the control of those who conjure it into existence.
As Amartya Sen points out, superminds (whose breath of life is identity) are dangerous and violent.
----
Some previous thoughts on democracy here. That discussion would have been greatly helped if it took into account Sen's ideas about identity. Identity politics is poison.
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