#Locke's influence on democracy

[blueheartbookclub]

"A Foundation of Modern Political Thought: A Review of John Locke's Second Treatise of Government"

John Locke's "Second Treatise of Government" stands as a cornerstone of modern political philosophy, presenting a compelling argument for the principles of natural rights, social contract theory, and limited government. Written against the backdrop of political upheaval in 17th-century England, Locke's treatise remains as relevant and influential today as it was upon its publication.

At the heart of Locke's work lies the concept of natural rights, wherein he asserts that all individuals are born with inherent rights to life, liberty, and property. Locke argues that these rights are not granted by governments but are instead derived from the natural state of humanity. Through logical reasoning and appeals to natural law, Locke lays the groundwork for the assertion of individual rights as fundamental to the legitimacy of government.

Central to Locke's political theory is the notion of the social contract, wherein individuals voluntarily enter into a political community to secure their rights and promote their common interests. According to Locke, legitimate government arises from the consent of the governed, and its authority is derived from its ability to protect the rights of its citizens. This contract between rulers and the ruled establishes the basis for legitimate political authority and provides a framework for assessing the legitimacy of governmental actions.

Locke's treatise also advocates for the principle of limited government, arguing that the powers of government should be strictly defined and circumscribed to prevent tyranny and abuse of authority. He contends that governments exist to serve the interests of the people and should be subject to checks and balances to prevent the concentration of power in the hands of a few. Locke's advocacy for a separation of powers and the rule of law laid the groundwork for modern democratic governance and constitutionalism.

Moreover, Locke's emphasis on the right to revolution remains a contentious and influential aspect of his political philosophy. He argues that when governments fail to fulfill their obligations to protect the rights of citizens, individuals have the right to resist and overthrow oppressive regimes. This revolutionary doctrine has inspired movements for political reform and self-determination throughout history, serving as a rallying cry for those seeking to challenge unjust authority.

In conclusion, John Locke's "Second Treatise of Government" is a seminal work that continues to shape the discourse on political theory and governance. Through his eloquent prose and rigorous argumentation, Locke presents a compelling vision of a just and legitimate political order grounded in the principles of natural rights, social contract, and limited government. His ideas have left an indelible mark on the development of liberal democracy and remain essential reading for anyone interested in understanding the foundations of modern political thought.

John Locke's "Second Treatise of Government" is available in Amazon in paperback 12.99$ and hardcover 19.99$ editions.

Number of pages: 181

Language: English

Rating: 9/10                                           

Link of the book!

Review By: King's Cat

[blueheartbooks]

"A Foundation of Modern Political Thought: A Review of John Locke's Second Treatise of Government"

John Locke's "Second Treatise of Government" stands as a cornerstone of modern political philosophy, presenting a compelling argument for the principles of natural rights, social contract theory, and limited government. Written against the backdrop of political upheaval in 17th-century England, Locke's treatise remains as relevant and influential today as it was upon its publication.

At the heart of Locke's work lies the concept of natural rights, wherein he asserts that all individuals are born with inherent rights to life, liberty, and property. Locke argues that these rights are not granted by governments but are instead derived from the natural state of humanity. Through logical reasoning and appeals to natural law, Locke lays the groundwork for the assertion of individual rights as fundamental to the legitimacy of government.

Central to Locke's political theory is the notion of the social contract, wherein individuals voluntarily enter into a political community to secure their rights and promote their common interests. According to Locke, legitimate government arises from the consent of the governed, and its authority is derived from its ability to protect the rights of its citizens. This contract between rulers and the ruled establishes the basis for legitimate political authority and provides a framework for assessing the legitimacy of governmental actions.

Locke's treatise also advocates for the principle of limited government, arguing that the powers of government should be strictly defined and circumscribed to prevent tyranny and abuse of authority. He contends that governments exist to serve the interests of the people and should be subject to checks and balances to prevent the concentration of power in the hands of a few. Locke's advocacy for a separation of powers and the rule of law laid the groundwork for modern democratic governance and constitutionalism.

Moreover, Locke's emphasis on the right to revolution remains a contentious and influential aspect of his political philosophy. He argues that when governments fail to fulfill their obligations to protect the rights of citizens, individuals have the right to resist and overthrow oppressive regimes. This revolutionary doctrine has inspired movements for political reform and self-determination throughout history, serving as a rallying cry for those seeking to challenge unjust authority.

In conclusion, John Locke's "Second Treatise of Government" is a seminal work that continues to shape the discourse on political theory and governance. Through his eloquent prose and rigorous argumentation, Locke presents a compelling vision of a just and legitimate political order grounded in the principles of natural rights, social contract, and limited government. His ideas have left an indelible mark on the development of liberal democracy and remain essential reading for anyone interested in understanding the foundations of modern political thought.

John Locke's "Second Treatise of Government" is available in Amazon in paperback 12.99$ and hardcover 19.99$ editions.

Number of pages: 181

Language: English

Rating: 9/10                                           

Link of the book!

Review By: King's Cat

[odinsblog]

Donald Trump took the stage in Greensboro, N.C. last Saturday calling for rounding up millions of Latinos across America and putting them in mass detention camps as part of “the largest domestic deportation operation in American history.” Unfortunately, this kind of rhetoric has become so common among the MAGA Republican playlist that it’s tempting to see it as a joke. But that wasn’t just somebody’s racist grandfather running off at the mouth or a standup comedian with bad taste playing to the crowd. My parents and grandparents would have called it a dog whistle, but my generation should know it’s a bullhorn. But whatever you call it, it was calculated, drafted, tested and approved as part of the far-right Project 2025 plan to turn back the clock on civil rights, women’s rights, workers’ rights and democracy itself. It was the white Christian nationalist agenda on full public display in all its un-American glory and we can’t afford to take it lightly.

Now, if you haven’t heard about Project 2025, don’t feel bad. Most people haven’t. Founded in 2022 by the ultra-conservative Heritage Foundation, it’s an organization led by Trump insiders preparing for one nation under Trump if the twice impeached and four times indicted former president wins the November election and to call them dangerous is an understatement.

What do you think about overhauling federal law enforcement so that the Department of Justice and the FBI, designed to be independent and insulated from political influence, were controlled directly by a newly elected and emboldened President Trump so he could protect his minions from investigation, arrest and prosecution no matter how many laws they broke? Project 2025 loves the idea.

Want to bypass the Senate confirmation process and stop notifying Congress when we sell weapons to foreign governments? Project 2025 does. What about terminating every diversity, equity and inclusion program in the federal government? Project 2025 says right on. What do you think about invoking martial law, using the military as local law enforcement and locking up Trump opponents? Project 2025 calls that progress.

But how do they plan on doing all this? After all, the federal government is more than just one person in the Oval Office. Trump already learned that lesson when federal employees and even some of his own appointees refused to break the law just because he said so.

But Project 2025 has a solution to that roadblock. They call it Schedule F and it’s a plan to fire as many as 50,000 federal employees and replace them with dyed-in-the-wool MAGA fanatics who swear their loyalty not to America or the Constitution but to Donald J. Trump. They’re not even trying to keep it a secret. But why would they?

You see, Project 2025 isn’t confused about who they are. They’re the MAGA Manifesto committed to the unapologetic vision of right-wing nationalism and they don’t care who knows it. Let’s be honest, these guys are attacking President Biden for pushing “racial equity in every area of our national life, including in employment.” Is that supposed to be a bad thing? Are we supposed to think our president should not be fighting for equality and justice?

That’s what Project 2025 says. But that shouldn’t surprise us. After all, they don’t think folks who look like me are real Americans. Neither does Trump.

But they’re not clowns. They’re highly trained, well-funded political operatives dedicated to winning in November and remaking America in their white nationalist image. They’ve spent the past two years putting together a plan to do just that setting the highest stakes imaginable for this election.

(continue reading)

[assortedfruitsnacks212]

"America is so over." "We're screwed." "We're cooked!"

HEY. Eyes on me. No, don't look at them, look at me.

This isn't as unprecedented as you think. Assholes have been trying to seize power for eons, and people have tried to assassinate them for just as long. Sometimes failing. Sometimes not. Yeah it emboldens their fan base, yeah it turns them into martyrs. That's not unprecedented either.

The question now is what are YOU going to do about it. Yes, YOU, my fellow American citizen.

Yes, I know it's terrifying. Breathe through it. Have a good cry if you need to. Vent to a friend or several. Then stand up, dust yourself off, and make a plan. Think: what's your sphere of influence? Your REAL sphere of influence. I'm not just talking about voting, though yes absolutely do that please (and learn a lesson from the French: don't split the vote. Not this time). I'm talking about the people you know in real life. Platforms you might have where people actually listen to you. What can you do in your limited sphere of influence to fight back?

Fighting back can take a hundred thousand forms. Here are some I've personally come across and/or practiced:

- Check in with your friends who might be struggling emotionally. Make sure they don't feel alone. Be a good friend!

- Have the hard conversations wherever they feel appropriate. By conversations, I don't necessarily mean confrontation. It can be hard to talk to someone you disagree with, especially if it's a topic you're passionate about, but you're sure as hell not gonna change anyone's mind if you yell at them, Jesus Christ.

- Find out who's in need in your area and help them out. I don't just mean strangers, I mean people you know too. Be curious about their lives and listen to their problems. Maybe your uninsured friend is struggling with migraines, and you happen to have migraine meds she can use. Maybe your broke friend needs a pair of jeans, and you have a pair you don't wear anymore. Maybe you grow herbs on your balcony and can brighten people's lives by giving some away. The possibilities are endless. Whatever you decide, the more of these small choices you make, the safer and happier the people around you will be. In a country without a proper social safety net, it's up to YOU to help weave one.

- Spend your energy wisely. Don't argue with Trumpers on the internet, and for God's sake don't waste your time fabricating elaborate conspiracy theories about "what actually happened." Whatever it was, it happened, and now we're dealing with the consequences. Our job stays the same: keep Trump out of the White House, push the far right back. That's the goal. Now lock in.

- Keep living your life. You can't be engaged in the fight all the time. Eat. Stay hydrated. Watch your favorite shows. Hang out with friends. Do the things you love, whether it's writing fanfic, drawing, or listening to music. Go outside. Enjoy beauty wherever you find it. How else are you going to remember what you're fighting for? Draw strength from the good things in life.

- Learn a little history. Read books or listen to podcasts about other hard times. Let them broaden your perspective. This isn't the first time people have faced a dire political threat, and it won't be the last.

- On that note, research ways other grassroots movements have brought down authoritarians in the past. The Serbians did it twenty years ago. Now they're telling us how they did it.

- Whatever you do, DON'T GIVE UP. It's not over till we say it's over. Don't just give Trump the country! Say no, goddammit. Stand up. Follow the example of so many of the famous stories we love here on Tumblr (Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Stranger Things, etc), and fight, even if it feels impossible. This is a contest of belief. Find your reason for fighting and lean into it hard. Don't let Trumpers outbelieve you.

Chin up, love. You are more powerful than you'll ever know. And when we stand together, they should be afraid of us.

[disorderofsevenstars]

Gender and Divinity

At one end of the gender spectrum lies the Feminine, associated with Black and darkness, the Earth and mundane matters, collectivity, interconnection, receptivity, cyclicality, synthesis, and heterogeneity. At the other end lies the Masculine, associated with White and illumination, the Heavens and spiritual matters, individuality, separation, exclusivity, linearity, analysis, and homogeneity. These two extremes, Yin and Yang, interact to create a multitude of permutations which lie somewhere in between the purely Feminine and the purely Masculine. Everything that exists as part of what we usually call "reality" is located somewhere in this intermediate space. The extremes themselves are conceptual, and do not exist in material reality, as they are characterized by a purity which cannot be found in Nature.

Sleeping, dreaming, and Death-as-a-state (in contrast with Death-as-a-process) fall within the domain of the Feminine, as do gravity and magnetism, Zero and the even numbers, the elements of Water and Earth, the Moon, and the Cosmic Void or World Egg. Femininity denotes a state of rest, stability, and equilibrium. It promotes slowness and longevity, regeneration and even immortality, characteristic of oceanic or cold environments and the organisms that live there, shielded from the mutagenic properties of solar radiation. The influence of the Feminine on human societies manifests through tribalism, collectivism, and egalitarianism, giving rise to social structures such as animist and polytheistic religions, cults, clans, matrilineal descent systems, polygamy and polyamory, democracy, communism, hedonism, mysticism, subcultures and countercultures. It is driven by the Dionysian impulse to shed the Ego, losing the Self within something larger, like a drop of rain falling into the ocean. The Moon is a mirror; it does not generate its own light.

Femininity is the original and final state of all things. It is prominent in small children and the elderly, more so in non-human animals (especially large and slow-moving animals, those animals which are more primordial or lower on the food chain, as well as small animals with collectivistic tendencies such as ants), even more so in plants, and still more so in rocks, soil, and water. In animals, it is highly oriented toward the senses of touch, taste, and smell. During the course of our evolution, we developed eyes, learned to hunt, learned to walk on land, learned to stand upright, became taller, acquired language and logic, mastered the use of tools and fire, and lost our fur; some of us also lost our melanin. The development of an embryo into an infant, into a child, into an adult, involves a loss of plasticity; bones harden and fuse, the percentage of water in the body decreases, and neural pathways become more rigid. All of these traits indicate a process of Masculinization.

The Masculine is the domain of awareness, alertness, problem-solving, and conflict. It governs changes, transitions, and boundaries. Masculinity is a property of electricity, odd numbers, prime numbers, the elements of Fire and Air, the Sun, and the Axis Mundi. It is dynamic and always in motion, striving to reach the Feminine rest-state, like an arrow flying towards a target, or a key inserted into a lock. The influence of the Masculine on human societies manifests through individualism and inequality, giving rise to colonialism, capitalism, competition, war, monotheism, monogamy, patriarchy, the nation-state, asceticism, and scientific thought. Driven by the Apollonian impulse towards separation and clarity, it prioritizes facts over feelings.

Unable to coexist and seeing plurality as a threat, Masculinity seeks to dominate the Other and propagate the Self, often through violent means; Western culture, Christianity, and Islam are examples of this. Monotheism and patriarchy have a mutual affinity, and in many cases, one promotes the other. The god of a monotheistic religion is usually male. The Sun is the central axis around which all bodies in the Solar System revolve. This tendency of the Masculine to see itself as superior lies behind the association of Light with Good, and Darkness with Evil. Humans, considered as a whole, lean towards Masculinity, and serve as a Masculine counterpart to the natural environment of Earth.

The supreme divinity is like a polygon with an infinite number of sides: simultaneously circular and linear. Fate arises from the interconnection of individual wills, a product of emergent complexity, many individual entities inadvertently working together in a larger system. "GOD" can be described as genderless, or a perfect balance of all possible genders. It has the Feminine quality of Being, and the Masculine quality of Unity. It is an all-pervasive energy field of pure universal consciousness, which can be channeled into various manifestations that possess genders and other specific attributes, like white light being split by a prism into its spectral components. These facets of divinity are conceptualized in every pantheon of deities, in the 12 signs of the Zodiac, in the 22 Major Arcana or 22 letters of the Hebrew Alphabet, in Kabbalah as the 10 Sefirot, in Christianity as the Holy Trinity, in the Tzolk'in as the 20 Naguales, and in Chinese cosmology as the Ba Gua (Eight Trigrams) and 64 Hexagrams of the I Ching.

[3/16/2024]

[loving-n0t-heyting]

Alright, some context before I ask theis, because I don't want to misrepresent myself even by implication:

I am extremely economically right-wing. I am also pro-incarceration for quite a few crimes. I am generally not on the "democracy" side of the democracy to non-democracy scale. I think it would be okay if prisons were run hereditarily, if the position of Warden were generally given to the second or third son of a local Earl.

THAT BEING SAID:

There's no contradiction between prisons being a net cost to the taxpayer, and the demand for prisons being heavily driven by people who profit from them, that sort of thing happens all the time! The USA is rife with crony capitalism. It's not at all uncommon for something that is overall unprofitable to be promoted because it benefits a small group of wealthy and influential figures who can lean on politicians and media companies. Look at the defence industry. Look at protectionist tariffs. Look at corn syrup.

It's absolutely possible that if nobody were profiting from, for example, prison phone calls, or those prison dramas on American television like "OZ" or "Orange Is The New Black" (which make huge amounts of money, and are perceived as "realistic" or "gritty" because prisons exist) that there would be less incarceration.

Advertising, mass media, and campaign donations are not minor influences.

BTW, what's this about natural gas in Gaza?

there is absolutely a lot of crony capitalism going on in the us prison system, and this certainly creates some vested interest in engorging the prison population. but, like i said, it just cannot plausibly do all the heavy explanatory lifting ppl claim for it wrt the extent of us mass incarceration

its surprisingly hard to find much aggregated info on campaign finance and advertising in local judicial elections, but it kinda defies belief that they are the object of a vast industrial conspiracy to promote mass incarceration and that this more or less explains entirely why the us has so many of its ppl locked up. if it were so, one would to begin with expect the conspiracy to regularly promote judges to office with a consistent pro-imprisonment bent, rather than for sentencing severity to cycle with elections. indeed, it would be a hell of a lot more efficient to make sure these judgeships were all appointed, so the System could install them directly without the mediation of routine popularity contests. this doesnt look like the machinations of a crony capitalist cabal hand in hand with the state, it looks like individual mostly local elected bureaucrats pandering to a base that wants revenge all on its own

i probably am risking giving the impression i think judicial elections are the be all and end all of the crisis of mass incarceration in the united states. obviously thats not the case; states like cali with only limited electoral accountability for judges are hardly all bastions of freedom, and ofc this ignores legislative interventions like mandatory minimums and truth-in-sentencing laws. but it is useful as a way to point out the limitations of "just follow the money!"s explanatory power

"israel/us are bombing gaza for natural gas" was a silly theory being propagated on social media among some leftists

[robcosposts]

Behold my old attempt at creating a fallout game this will be mediocre best It was never finished for good reason. It wasn’t very good, but if this gets enough support, I’ll make it better and please give me honest suggestions on how to make it better. Any criticism is welcome. In fact call me a dumb ass if you want.

Fallout the midwaste

Fallout: the midwaste ideas

Description journey though the midwest now known as the midwaste and see several factions fight for the city of Chicago and the fate of illinois.

Location Chicago illinois and several smaller cities and the frames several towns that are new

Factions and descriptions

The Democratic chicago republic or Dcr

A mix of vault dwellers, wastelanders and ghouls who formed a democracy out of desperation

This government is attempting to keep it together while its officials take bribes from all of the crime families as well as fighting an independent brotherhood of steel faction and being a divided nation with its big election coming up. With a poverty rate and homeless rate higher than the average great Khan the Chicago republic is a nation in need of help to stop even the crime families.will you help this nation that has more freedoms than the average ncr citizen and more ghouls than goodneighbor or let it collapse in on itself.

Enclave remnants

A few members of the enclave survived the battle for the capitol in fallout 3 and a small amount hid in the midwest due to documents that prove there's a vault that population was 12 that they took over after finding the vault deserted. The 20 enclave members left are now the children of the original remnants with only 1 of the 1st generation left. The children are more liberal than their parents were due to outside influence .now being less pro genocide and even view all pure humans as only a little lesser than them. Will you help the remnants of the old shadow government of America take back one of its biggest cities. Or let this shadow of the past finally fade. The copper clubs/The Nuclear Dragonfly Kings/the grim kings.

Who says only the government and vault teachers helped each other? Several crime bosses got them and their goons a few vaults allowing their family to take over the drug ring and for hundreds of caps with no one to challenge them until the Chicago republic. Will you rule your own drug empire or kick their cigar butts

Midwest bos

This version of the brotherhood of steel they where planning to reunite with the rest to until they heard the lyons died and after Arthur Maxion took over due to his views that would kick out their ghoul, super mutant and sentient deathclaw members.this version of the brotherhood are far more liberal than their east and west counterparts. They're Not perfect though with an attack on the chicago republic due to power armor use and stealing tech from civilians like terminals and turrets with them only offering a single knight to defend them. will you keep humanity safe from the teachings of the past or give the pepole a way to defend themselves.

Pre quest character knowledge

The year is 2290

The singleI maunder is the nickname male version named john female jacklyn somewhere

from 18-33 canonical (can be changed by players for roleplay.) your sibling left the vault while you where sleeping

Pre quest vault knowledge

vault Number 49

Part of a vault witch said that had a strict law code that had the rules

1 none will lev e the vault until 2300 (when in reality if no one left until 2300 the doors would be forced open and release a pheromone attracting deadly creatures)

2 no noise after 12am (fair)

3No questioning the law the law

has had it's door broken due to a technical problem and has been overtaken by big bugs The vault has sent out expeditions to the surface but leaving without this permission will cause your family to be locked in the jail cell.

Customization and opening

(Insert war never changes clip)

You wake up and look at your vault mandated name tag pick your name than you look in the daily large drink water bucket and see your reflection and change appearance

Look at the cell vit-o-matic and use it change special points of the 22 you my use from in normal mode and hard and survival mode 28 in easy

Then your guard comes running away from an army of bugs before being devoured. quest starts

The main quest

Pre-faction and Non faction quest

1st quest Radio-active mystery.

Your sibling (opposite gender of your character) was sending a radio message outside the vault but to who and where are they leave the vault to find them

Escape to the surface from the cell your looked in

Kill the roaches and boat flies who are eating the bodies of the other vault dweller and collect the pip boy

Escape

2nd quest The light at the end of the bean

If your sibling went anywhere it would be chicago.

Go to chicago using the pip boy to see it on the map.

3rd quest

Dcr

the first act of 3 will be about picking a side the socialist or libertarian or staying neutral and

have a hanged government. It's on a scale where the gray area will result in a hanged government. The red side on the left resulted in a socialist party and the yellow side on the right leading to a libertarian victory.

1st quest (for Dcr) out-skirmish

you arrived at the town at the chicago outskirts where 2 militia one called the socialist chicago

union (or the the SCU) and the libertarian front (or the LF) are battling here you can

1. Assist the LF resulting in the bar to move to the right Dolan Navid

2. Help the SCU causing the bar to move left to do this side talk to the leader Janeko Conger 3. Or mediate peace peace witch will keep the scale in the middle

To mediate peace pass a speech check or have the perk lady killer and confirmed bachelor or female equivalents.

Midwest bos

Quest 1 super mutant skirmish

Help protected (killable by player only) bos member fight of aggressive supermutants

Quest 2 Quest 3

Quest 4 Teach-tax

̈request ̈ the new settlement for some teach for protection Tbd

Enclave remnant

Quest 1 Enclave? Here?!?!?

Your siblings' radio signals suggest that they were contacting a group of people calling themselves the enclave.

Their location being marked go find them.

Quest 2 entry please

The entry officers ask you to do a chore for entry, a few caps and information of course.

Dcr scouts are nearing the bunker kill them away from the bunker to not arouse suspicion or convince them through a 40 stat speech check or bribe them with 50 caps to f off

Quest 3 Fake Horrigan

Once The enclave learns your from a vault it is now offering you us citizenship for some more help this will come with power armor and 4 fusion cores.

There's a damned Mutie from the enclave 1 enemy the bos it has poorly painted red eyes and badly molded together x01 power and it is clearly being used to frame the enclave for anti Dcr crimes. With it having a giant E with stars around it and calling itself Frank Horrigan.

Kill or convince the Mutie to stop working for the bos.

Side quest

Free s.p.a

Location Near the midwest dam power plant ruins there's a facility it marked

Talk to a ghoul in the plant whose name is jaden.

She will explain she was meant to use scuba power armor or s.p.a but only was able to make a prototype with her team before the war and her team is now feral ghouls except her or course.

She asks you to collect some parts for her so she can upgrade it.

You can choose to upgrade it to max or do 3 minimum

Warning this next one is so lore in accurate that you want to look away maybe

Brain vs brawn and East vs West

East and west cost mutants are at war in the middle of the country

the east cost and some west cost being more vilonnt

while the rest of west cost mutants  being smarter

 the west cost mutants are on thier last legs as the behmoths are all on the east as well as their dumber west cost brother joing the east cost mutants.

 the west cost mutants have been forced  to be becoming gorrila fighters and doing ambushes.

[sam-glade]

Happy WBW!! I would like to ask about the ruling class in your world! What is their power based on? Is it for example military power like with warrior nobilities of some ancient societies, or land ownership like in feudal societies, or something else? How is the status inherited? For example by first born, distributed to all children, voted for by the members (like in many clan systems), something else?

Hi Karkki, Happy WBW

Let me roll up my sleeves and get on with some info dumping.

Tl;dr: it's heavily inspired, but not a 1-1 copy of the Golden Liberty system.

As of Days of Dusk, the Sunblessed Realm is ruled by the five princes - hence, it's now more often referred to as the Five Princedoms. The king is believed to be alive, but absent, residing in his Palace in the Clouds. He's more or less revered as a god, but honestly, he does jack shit, only serves as a reminder for the princes that there's a higher power. The princes of course test the limits further and further as time goes on.

The princes descend from the king's closest friends and supporters, who fought off the Primeval Darkness with him about 3000 years ago. Given the longevity of the people, it means a vastly different number of generation between the progenitor of the family and the current head of state. For example, Anthea and Ianim are grandchildren of the First Prince, the White Dragon, the King's closest friend, and they're 100-200 years old. The Prince of the North is also from the third generation, and he's just over a 1000. Other families have anywhere between 5 and 12 generations.

Upon assuming the title of the head of state, the prince names their successor, so that there's no squabble over inheritance. The successor's role is mostly representative - I like to compare it to the First Lady in the US, doing mostly charity and outreach work. They'll also attend all sort of formal events from weddings to openings of new factories. The successor can be the child of the prince, but often is the younger sibling, and in one case the spouse.

In the Southern and Western princedoms, which trade a lot across the sea and are very economy-driven, the merchants and guilds hold a lot of power, and the prince is a figurehead. In the others, the princes have a lot more direct power; e.g. the First Prince's power is nigh-absolute. If she weren't such a firm believer in the Sun King's divine rule, she'd quite likely become a dictator. Fortunately, her religious-like faith keeps her in check.

It's also worth noting that the army is separated from the government, in that it's an institution that spans all five princedoms and it's sole purpose is to kill demons, not fight against humans. However, every Sword is legally obligated to serve their 20 years while their Sword develops, and it's genetically inherited, so direct descendants of the progenitors of the princes' families who were Swords end up serving in the army and rising high in the rank (if only so that other officers gain some favour with them outside the army), thus giving them influence there as well. E.g. the White Dragon commanded the Winged Division, which evolved from his cavalry units, and now Anthea is the commander. There are questions raised about conflicts of interest.

By the end of Prodigal Children, this goes too far, and in the South, there's a revolt, which leads to that state declaring itself a republic, and being ruled by a handful of populist leaders, mostly guildmasters. The West on the other hand tries something modelled after elective monarchy, which has the nobility choosing the successor, so it's not locked to a single family, but still relies on inherited titles. Eventually, it will tend to various flavours of democracy (though 3000 years later, in The Truth Teller, it has again gone wrong, where you have basically one uncontested political party turning authoritarian.

So that's the aristocracy.

Now, for the nobility, it's modelled after the szlachta. The key characteristics are that it's a rather numerous class, and the poorer nobles are honestly not as wealthy as a homeowner in a city, as a rule of thumb, while district governors can are comparable to wealthy merchants, so there's a fair bit of spread. The noble houses usually own a village or two, so yes, it's serfdom. The poorer ones may end up co-owning a village, the wealthier - owning a handful of them. One example we see on page is the Sixth Tree, who don't own a village, but a gun making factory, and that's what pays for their taxes.

The noble titles are inherited by the firstborn or oldest adopted child, though that might be changed by a written declaration.

The nobility gathers at regular intervals for local/regional/state-wide assemblies. There, they vote on various changes to the law, resolve feuds, etc. Yes, they can vote by letter. Technically anyone can veto any resolution, and one veto is enough to send it back to the drawing board, which means the assemblies can drag on for a while. Also, there's a tonne of politicking involved, as you might expect - voting for something just to curry favour, etc. (Side note: I keep calling it assemblies, though I've seen 'parliament' used more often in English. It's based on the idea of sejmik).

The assemblies that involve the princes are the prince-wide and general assemblies, and yes, that puts another limit on the prince's power and what they can put into law. If they try taking too much power away from the nobility, they'll be vetoed. However, being too trigger happy with vetoing them is sure to put you on their naughty list ;)

Finally, if the nobility believes that the prince is really screwing them or the state over, they can call for a lawful insurrection - which is how one of the princes gets replaced in Prodigal Children. It's based on rokosz. Then, they choose the next prince from among themselves.

.

Adding Days of Dusk taglist (please message me to +/-): @acertainmoshke @another-white-void @cee-grice @cljordan-imperium @elshells

@goldxdarkness @poetinprose @sparrow-orion-writes @tisiphonewolfe

[machiavellianwaffles-blog]

Map of the Occcident [Paranoika]

This world building project, called the Paranoika, is an exercise in portraying the nuances of cold war geopolitics and storytelling under fictional contexts. Much of the worldbuilding done draws from the real world, including city and nation names, geography, and the general progress of history.

The Occident is a diverse and historically rich continent located entirely in the north-western hemisphere. |The Occident is home to over 1.5 billion people across 34 nations, some of which are the largest and wealthiest in the world. The continent has played a crucial role in shaping world history, from the birth of ancient civilizations in Vitrogny and Graad, the formation of the Sacrosanct religion, and the industrial revolution. These forces would propel Occidental civilization into becoming a dominant presence on the world stage. Influencing the world, first through an era of expansive colonialism, and now through the cold war of the contemporary age. 

The Occident today is locked into a period of geopolitical tension colloquially known as the Paranoika. fought between the secular, leftist nations of the Communauté and liberal democracies of the Solantic League. The roots of the Paranoika can be traced back to the diplomatic tensions preceding the Volhynian Deluge of 1328, a conflict that saw the sole surviving colonial empire in the Occident collapse into civil war. The signing of the Centennial Armistice Treaty in 1300 saw the formal end to over 20 years of revolution and war throughout the Occident. Leading to disagreements from the victorious nations as to the future of the Occident. In the immediate aftermath of the Volhynian Deluge, the debate for the future of the Occident became central as the former Volhynian empire was carved up. The first major confrontation came a year later, in 1229, when the Communauté attempted to restrict access to the Voz canal, the sole link between the Solantic Sea and the world at large. This marked a turning point, shifting the Paranoika from diplomatic tensions to the brink of armed conflict. By 1330, the Paranoika was firmly in place as the conflict spread around the world. Chiefly on the continent of Sintripoli, where communard and solantic aligned militants would struggle for dominance in the cocaine trade, sparking the first of many Magenta wars.

Elsewhere in the Occident, other powers would rise in spite of the Paranoika. In 1333, the nation of Hielkant would be partitioned after a war with Vitrogny turned disastrous. Hielaknt was divided between the communard backed Socialst Republic of Hielkant and the solantic aligned Hielian Democratic Union. The HDU would break away from solantic influence in 1339 under the direction of Dirigisme or statism, which emphasized state-run market economies. The HDU would prosper in spite of the numerous recessions of the 1340’s, culminating in the establishment of the Western Occidental Treaty Organization during the decade: which saw much of the Kanter and Walder speaking nations unify into a powerful military and economic bloc, contesting both communard and solantic power in the west. 

Years after the Volhynian Deluge, what remained of the Volhynian state stabilized under a federal democracy. Wary of future conflict, the new Volhynia would seek alliances from other surrounding nations directly in the path of solantic or communard expansion. This alliance would formalize in 1335 as the paradoxically named États Sans Alliés, or states without allies. The ESA today consists of three core members; the aforementioned Volhynina Republic, the autocratic Veszél, and the minarchist Veduvor. Numerous other nations around the world align with the ESA, with the alliance representing the interests of the global non-aligned movement.

[oaks-and-willows]

About the Azerbaijani interference in the Kanaky crisis, as claimed by French government sources:

My ex-gf's dad is a consultant. He asked me a couple years back if I could do some research for him to see if an Azeri claim to an Armenian Orthodox monastery in the then-disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region could be made on the basis of old documents in a language today spoken in Azerbaijan but not in Armenia, Udi. It could not but that's beside the point.

Today he asked me if I could put him in contact with Kanak leaders so that they would sign an article he wrote. Said it was urgent. Here's the text.

"Here's the draft article. It would be printed in a uk newspaper

"Reinforcements will arrive massively and immediately and will be deployed to the areas which have escaped our control in recent days... to reconquer all the areas we have lost".

This brutally aggressive statement sounds like something a 19th century colonial slave master might have spat out, his name lost to history.

In fact it was spoken by Louis Le Franc, France's High Commissioner, just yesterday.

And it is precisely this antiquated, jack-booted, colonialist mindset which has led to violence, street riots and a state of emergency on the Oceania archipelago of New Caledonia in recent days.

Le Franc is Paris’s most senior representative in New Caledonia - a 140-strong collection of tiny specks in the Pacific Ocean about 1500km east of Australia, named by Captain James Cook in 1774 and now one of the dwindling number of French overseas territories.

This week’s riots, sparked entirely by Emmanuel Macron’s attempts to impose changes to voting rules to the detriment of the indigenous Kanak people fighting for independence, have also left five people dead.

Macron's plan allows recent French settlers to vote, to the anger of many Kanaks who make up 40% of the population. And it stinks of double-standards from the Elysée Palace.

On the world stage - and especially in the context of the EU - Macron insists he is a champion for democracy and self-rule. Only days ago, as people took to the streets to fight Vladimir Putin’s malign influence in the former Soviet-bloc nation of Georgia he wrote: “Bravo to the Georgian people. France stands by you.”

By contrast, last night he sent 1000 more armed officers to New Caledonia to clamp down on demonstrations triggered by his own affront to democracy in that tiny nation.

You couldn’t make it up.

Meanwhile Macron has also bizarrely launched a broadside against Azerbaijan, a country he accuses of fomenting anti-French tensions in New Caledonia and waging a disinformation campaign.

It's not France's fault you see, it's those sneaky Azerbaijanis.... again, you couldn't make it up.

To this end he has banned Chinese-owned social media service TikTok across the territory - a move one might more usually associate more with unsavoury dictators.

Of course Paris’s anti-Azerbaijan position has nothing to do with an independence battle 17,000km away but much to do with domestic French politics./

Azerbaijan and neighbour Armenia have been locked in a long-standing and unpleasant tit-for-tat confrontation for years. France backs Armenia, largely because somewhere between 500,000 and a million Armenians live in France - the biggest proportion in Paris - and Macron, presumably, would like their vote.

And yes, Azerbaijan flags have been seen alongside Kanak symbols in the New Caledonia capital Nouméa (though the Government in Baku has fiercely denied any link between itself and the archipelago’s separatist movement).

But why wouldn’t they wave those flags? Last year Azerbaijan invited separatists from the French territories of Martinique, French Guiana, New Caledonia and French Polynesia to Baku for a conference in July 2023. The meeting saw the creation of the "Baku Initiative Group", whose stated aim is to support "French liberation and anti-colonialist movements".

If you are a New Caledonian committed to the ultimate independence of New Caledonia of course you are going to get behind that.

By contrast France has a grim and bloody history of clinging on to colonialism by force, in both Indo China and Africa.

The First Indo China war which started in 1954 (a prelude to the 1960s Vietnam conflict proper) left more than half a million dead. And the even bloodier Algerian War which France fought against native Algerian separatists between 1954 and 1962 is estimated to have cost 1.5m lives. Rape, torture and other horrific war crimes were commonplace and France imprisoned 2m people in concentration camps - and this less than 10 years after the horrors of Auschwitz had been revealed.

Tunisia, Chad, Niger, Morocco… the list of colonies France was desperate to remain master over is as bloody as it is extensive.

But why does all this matter? Why should the wider world trouble itself with the internal politics of a tiny speck in the Pacific with a national population slightly less than that of Montpellier?

Two words: nickel and China.

New Caledonia is estimated to hold 30% of world’s nickel reserves and nickel is what makes up about half of the batteries powering the planet’s electric vehicles.

Nickel may very well be the new oil.

A recent report by Australia’s science agency CSIRO indicated about five times as much nickel (48,006 kilotonnes) would be needed to meet global demand by 2050.

Nickel-rich countries will be very rich indeed in forthcoming decades.

In truth New Caledonia’s nickel industry is currently in chaos, partly through mismanagement, and partly through French policy which governs exports but it is difficult not to conclude that these problems will be corrected and the tiny dot of New Caledonia will become a significant world player.

The second reason New Caledonia is so important is its physical location - which gives France, and thus NATO, a key foothold in this highly contested area of the Pacific.

Unsurprisingly it is currently being salivated over by China.

Which leaves Macron very nervous and feeling the colonial need to step in and make decisions for the poor colonials who know no better.

In 2024 this of course is nothing but patronising, paternalistic imperialism.

As Denise Fisher, former Australian consul-general to New Caledonian capital Nouméa, said: "Never underestimate our independent Pacific Island friends.

"I've been asked, 'Oh, but you know, isn't it a key problem for Australia that if New Caledonia becomes independent right on your doorstep, you're going to have another Chinese vessel? “Clearly, broadly strategically, it's very important. But the reality is, we have other island neighbours who manage their independent countries, they manage their relationships with China."

What she’s saying is that the people of New Caledonia are grown-up enough to think for themselves and make decisions in THEIR interests.

Isn’t that democracy Mr Macron?"

So I think the interference attempts may not be total BS.

[didmyownresearch]

How come we are so fucked: the decline of modern democracy

The second law of thermodynamics states that the level of disorder in any closed system cannot decrease. Unless there's some external influence, things can only get more and more messy.  The earth is not, by any mean, a close system, and therefore neither the biosphere nor human activities are in fact directly governed by the second law in the strict sense. Nevertheless, we can still formulate a version for this law of nature that is applicable to human societies: without a focused intervention everything shall get worse.

A democratic government is a synthetic thing. It was made; it didn't just evolve. The first system for a modern democratic rule was set up in the US of A during the late eighteenth century by its founding fathers. It was based on ideas by liberal European thinkers such as Locke, Rousseau and Montesquieu‏. Although the US was hardly a true democracy then – it legalized slavery and assigned voting rights to white men only – the system it procured still served as a template for all modern democracies hence: parliament, government and head of state (and potentially other public positions) elected by the general public according to the majority rule.

There is no perfect system of government. The US Americans, for instance, tried to construct a fair system, but it was rather naïve and it still contained many loopholes that could be exploited by some groups to increase their own political power on the expanse of other groups. Moreover, when certain people become powerful due to flaws in the system, they use this power to enlarge end deepen these advantageous defects, gaining even more power, and that allows them to increase yet again the inherent unfairness. This dynamic is common to all forms of government, not just in the US: barring a dramatic disruption or, alternatively, a continuous effort to counter decay, the imbalance and unfairness can only increase over time. It's the "second law" of sociodynamics.

Indeed, dramatic disruptions can occur. The US had a civil war. Germany fell into fascism and then was defeated and conquered in a world war. However, revolutions and total wars are rare, unpredictable and bloody. The only practical way to preserve a fair, liberal democracy it to fight for it relentlessly. The problem is, most people fail to understand this fact. They have this false vision of a democratic system as a stable structure, protected by its constitution and by its institutions. And because they don't take into account the second law of sociodynamics, they become passive subjects of the deteriorating system, ignorant with respect to the fundamental reasons all this is happening around them.

One of the resulting misconceptions is to regard conservative politics as representing just another ideological stance. In fact, those who lead the fight to conserve a faulty system are typically the ones who benefit mostly by it. And they have a built-in advantage, exactly because of these faults. It’s a positive-feedback vicious circle – the powerful have the power to preserve and magnify their power. The fact that they operate within a supposedly fair democratic system only help to obfuscate the actual dynamic behind the scene.

But it doesn't end here. There's another factor that make matters much worse than they could have been. The masterminds of modern democracy made a fatal mistake in their design. They stipulated that political power is allocated strictly based on majority. And this, as it turned out, is profoundly destructive.

Democratic governments profess to represent a "social contract", empowering it to rule for the benefit of the society as a whole. However, in effect, they frequently gain control that is only based on a small majority. For example, a governing coalition may have gained a very narrow majority of just 51% of the votes but obtained practically all the political power. Moreover, in a heterogeneous society, where political and ideological affiliations are rooted in rigid ethnical, religious or socio-economical divisions, the same parties can gain the electoral upper-hand repeatedly in every election. Constituents of minority groups, large or small, are being incessantly deprived of any significant influence on the national policy.

Minority groups suppression has far-reaching consequences. It undermines the very essence of the social contract as it leaves many citizens politically powerless. Consequently, the state can ignore their interests with impunity, make them outcasts, and, in extreme cases, even persecute them under the guise of a lawful democratic rule.

The "winner takes it all" scheme generates a constant socio-political tension, hatred between rival political tribes and deep frustration that often leads to violence. Such social disintegration can be observed in democratic countries all over the world. Politics became a zero-sum game, and it's fucking up our societies and, eventually, our lives.

But what can be done? Is there any other fair way to determine policy without resorting to the who-got-more-skulls arm wrestling? Is there a way to drive society toward consensus rather than division? Is there a way to disrupt the vicious circle of the powerful using their power to gain more power?

Well, as a matter of fact, there is! I intend to elaborate about it in future posts. Meanwhile, it may be illuminating to consider the method employed in the NBA draft, and how it prevents specific teams from perpetuating their hegemony.

[tobiasdrake]

I'm of the opinion that the police can never be defunded or abolished by outside sources, because the owners of this country would never ever allow it.

However. I think it would be possible for the police to abolish themselves. How, you may ask? One word: paranoia.

You likened the police to a mafia/gang. And if there's anything an organized crime group hates more than anything, it's squealers. The general notion people have is that cops don't snitch on their own, unless they wanna get fired or dead. But if there was enough evidence planted, enough disinformation online to make them distrust everyone they know within the force both in and out of state...it could escalate to full-on police vs. police wars. And at that point, the owners will start putting the hammer down on them.

I realize this sounds insane, dangerous, and will probably get a lot of people killed (if it's even feasible). So I'm hoping you can poke holes in this, but I don't have any other ideas. How do we defeat the cops?

Societal change over time.

The only reason we can't just abolish all police institutions today is because there isn't political will to do it. We have neither politicians willing to abolish the police nor a voting public whose majority opinion agrees with abolishing the police.

This being a democracy, "Most people don't agree with you" is a problem for any policy you want to get passed. There certainly are workarounds; The fascistic right has gone to great lengths to force-feed unpopular policies to the American public through anti-democratic measures. But we don't have that option. Nor should anyone.

The end goal is to preserve, reinforce, and empower democracy.

Which means that a lot of "leftist" policies (including basic shit like the idea that a democracy is even worth having) have to be installed democratically.

We're never going to be rid of the fascistic murder bands until we've first diminished the attractiveness of fascism. As long as Americans think fascism is neato, they're going to be comfortable with keeping the roaming murder patrols. Right now, they want a white supremacist militia on their streets. They want there to be guns pointed at us because our ideas are scary and foreign.

The only way our ideas are going to stop being scary and foreign is by winning political victories, and sowing ideological seeds through enacting good policies.

Part of which means clawing back from the undemocratic chains that have been placed on us. Abolishing the legislative filibuster to erase the legislative deadlock and allow for Congress to do their jobs. Reclaiming SCOTUS, which at this point can probably only happen through court-packing. And, of course, fighting back against voter suppression.

And, of course, it means nominating candidates for political office that hold progressive ideas and then successfully getting those candidates elected. If we want to see society shift, we need to both be putting people into office who want to shift society and unchaining the locks that would prohibit them from doing so.

And at the activist level, of course, we need to be pushing these ideas on the general public. Shaping the conversation and influencing the way voters experience reality, so that they won't shrink away and glare with contempt at our public figures with contempt for saying things like "Trans rights are human rights."

A big reason that we're in this mess we're in right now is because the right has gotten very good at those things. Shaping voters' minds, nominating candidates who will uphold their beliefs, and empowering those candidates to action while disempowering their enemies (us).

It all comes back to politics. If we want to vanquish the police, if we want to enshrine healthcare as a human right, if we want to protect and uphold our education system, if we want to restore women's reproductive rights, if we want to empower labor unionization, and so many more things...

The only way that can happen is by winning enough political victories in the activist, electoral, and public office spaces that society agrees to change in the directions that we want it to.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

What are your thoughts on accusations that atheists are "culturally Christian?"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_Christians

Cultural Christians are nonreligious persons who adhere to Christian values and appreciate Christian culture. As such, these individuals usually identify themselves as culturally Christians, and are often seen by practicing believers as nominal Christians. This kind of identification may be due to various factors, such as family background, personal experiences, and the social and cultural environment in which they grew up.

I'm willing to accept that there are aspects of Western countries that are derived from or influenced by Xianity.

There are certainly many fine things that emerged under Xianity. Art, sculpture, literature, music, various institutions. But I would argue that those things can be attributed to people operating in a world that was pervasively Xian, not to Xianity itself. It's sort of like saying that the US owes 5G to Donald Trump because 2019 is when it started rolling out.

If only because non-Xian societies produced comparable cultural artefacts and institutions without knowing anything about the Dark Lord Yahweh. We need look no further than China for thousands of years of music, art and education. The idea that Xianity can be credited with these things when Xianity was simply the law of the land is lacking in self-awareness.

Political democracy is derived from Greek thought, our numbering system is derived from Arabic, and Liberalism itself is culturally British - via John Locke - in its modern form, and Greek and Chinese philosophy in its ancient forebears.

It's kind of a bizarre claim to make. Every time the culture was changing, or tried to, Xianity was there to oppose it. Printing press? Abolishing slavery? Street lighting? Desegregation? Interracial marriage? Same-sex marriage? Rock and roll? Xianity has nothing to say on these any more - mostly, anyway - but they came in spite of Xianity, not because of it.

That's not to say I don't appreciate the contribution of a conservative (small c, "preserve the existing good") counter-balance. We currently live in a time of "progressivism" so intractable and regressive it's advocating segregation, hiring and enrolment based on race, denying evolution and making gay people straight.

But Xianity didn't say "here are the very good reasons why this isn't a good idea, why we should go slowly, or why we need more information before deciding." They said "tEh bIbLe SaYs" and "bUt gOd!!" and "yOu'Re gOiNg tO HeLL!"

I don't really mind or care if individual atheists say they regard themselves as being "culturally Xian." Apparently Richard Dawkins does. But the idea that all atheists are "culturally Xian" is presumptive, arrogant and seems to be a way to take unearned credit, along the same lines as claiming morality comes from religion.

And I'm not even sure what the point is. Even if I agreed - yes, I'm culturally Xian - so what? What are they going to expect or demand as a result of this? What do they think we owe it? Deference? Refraining from criticizing and mocking Xianity? It does nothing for the god question.

Worse, it seems to be what we might call an Appeal to Utility - an admission that Xianity isn't true, but it's useful. Lead is useful, but I don't want it in my paint. Like when believers surrender the truth argument and say, well, my faith gives me peace and community or whatever. Meth makes people feel happy too.

But what does it say about Xianity when, as already mentioned, not only has Xianity not guided us through our own betterment, but has opposed it, and we've had to fight and ultimately, disregard it? Why is it that Xianity does not reliably produce cultural advancement? Why is that at least since the Enlightenment began, all cultural development has been without Xianity, and in spite of Xianity trying to hold it back?

One obvious and likely answer is that cultural development was never a goal or intention of Xianity, it was tolerated only in as much as it could be used to glorify their god and reinforce their authority. That's what they expected science to do. The Enlightenment, science and the pace of cultural development made "god" and Xianity unnecessary.

And why is it that society is abandoning Xianity in droves, and Xians feel compelled to change Xianity to make it fit non-Xian values? Why are Xian values and ideals - at least, the ones Xians want us to know about - lead by secular ones?

What's that saying about science? Xianity ignores it, opposes it, then pretends it knew it the whole time.

I would argue thanks, but we'll take it from here.

[akajustmerry]

whats your issue with romencken shippers?

.......what's my issue....with a character whose representative of how the Murdoch media empire has consistently installed neo-fascist puppets to secure influence over policy to the detriment of democracy and liberation across the world...being treated as a quasi romantic figure by certain fans??? what's *my* issue??? my issue is that I think this show should have a child lock on it, frankly, if this even has to be asked.

[chaotic-history]

Alexis de tocqueville i love you i am kissing you on the lips "puritanism was almost as much a political theory as a religious doctrine" YES YOU GET IT. WHY DOES EVERYONE IGNORE THIS. also i am in love with your theory that places the puritans as the main ancestor of late 1700s american democracy bc yeah there's a shitton of enlightenment influence there but we also had a long democratic tradition that started before the english and scottish enlightenments and remained a core value in many places even as america was somewhat intellectually isolated from much of the enlightenment. so imo there's a dual origin there. tj got his ideas from locke & co but at the same time the citizens in massachusetts were fighting for self-governance simply bc that's what they'd been doing for the past hundred and fifty years. and i also love how u compare the new england democracies w the southern democracies, cause yeah, va had definitely started leaning more towards aristocracy but bc of the 17thC puritan views on land ownership and social equality the puritan democratic tradition was rather more egalitarian

apologies for the rant aka spewing out my thoughts to a dead author but. started reading tocqueville's book out of curiosity and went mildly insane the second he mentioned the puritans. imma eventually post the essay i wrote for english abt the puritans and i'll add in a section talking abt tocqueville. i also need to make it like ten times longer bc word limits suck

[lost-carcosa]

Disgraced former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who unlawfully suspended Parliament, restricted the right to protest, and lied to MPs, has been appointed to the advisory board of the International Democracy Union, the global centre-right group for “freedom and democracy”. 

The International Democracy Union (IDU) is an international alliance of centre-right political parties based in Munich, Germany. It is chaired by Stephen Harper, the former Prime Minister of Canada. 

The group announced on Tuesday: “The IDU is excited to announce that PM Boris Johnson has joined our Honorary Advisory Board. His extensive experience as a statesman will be of tremendous help as we work towards building an ever-stronger alliance of the centre-right! Welcome to the IDU, Prime Minister!”

The decision has been met with baffled outrage on social media. In June, a report found that democracy in the UK was in retreat, following Boris Johnson’s cavalier approach to standards in public life and efforts to warp the constitution under his tenure.

Commissioned by democratic pressure groups, Unlock Democracy and Compass, the report found that issues like the partygate scandal – where politicians making the rules repeatedly  broke them over Covid – and the lobbying scandal surrounding Owen Paterson which saw Johnson try and fail to get him out of hot water by overriding Commons procedure – undermined the strength of democracy in the UK. 

Johnson’s government also introduced mandatory photo voter ID, which has made it much more difficult for millions of people to vote. At the same time, his Elections Act undermined the principle that the body responsible for overseeing elections, in this case the Electoral Commission, should be independent of government. The government can now set the body’s strategy and has a majority of seats on the parliamentary body overseeing it. 

Meanwhile, clampdowns on the right to protest and strike, and conscious attempts to delegitimise and weaken the power of independent regulators and the judiciary, compounded existing failings within UK democracy, the report found.

The IDU post is the latest gong for the man who shut down Parliament in order to prevent it voting against his Brexit plans, and who resigned when faced with a potential Commons vote over repeatedly lying to MPs. Johnson’s Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act has also seen hundreds of peaceful protesters locked up since passing last April.

Responding to the announcement that the former Prime Minister has joined the IDU’s Honorary Advisory Board, Tom Brufatto, Director of Policy at Best for Britain, said: “There is a staggering irony in Boris Johnson – the man who unlawfully prorogued parliament, eroded voters’ democratic rights with the Election’s Bill, and was found to have deliberately misled Parliament and the country during the pandemic – providing advice on the promotion of democracy.

“He should have no further influence on our or anyone else’s politics.”

Byline Times readers responded to the news of Johnson’s new post with disbelief. “Their entrance requirements must be really low to think he’s an asset to the group,” one said. 

Another said: “Any potential credibility they have just flown out of the window. [I] can’t believe any organisation thinks having Johnson on board is an asset.”

“Johnson is one of the greatest scam artists the UK has ever seen,” one argued. “If they are pleased he has joined them it says a lot about their integrity or rather lack of it,” another said, while one branded it simply: “Farcical.”

Another pointed to Johnson’s decision in 2019 to withdraw the whip from 21 Conservative MPs who dared to challenge him over his no-deal Brexit push: “At the next election, many were replaced by people of the ‘calibre’ of Lee Anderson, Scott Benton and others.”

One reader noted wryly: “I expect they want his skills and expertise in how to dismantle and damage democracy.” Others mocked the IDU’s use of the phrase ‘Prime Minister’ to describe Johnson, in the way that former US presidents keep their ‘President’ title. “He appears to have fooled the IDU into thinking he is Prime Minister,” one said.

Several replied simply with clown emojis. 

Former Conservative leader William Hague is a former chairman of the IDU. In June last year, Hague was among those calling for Johnson to quit as PM, saying his win among MPs was the “worst possible result” for the party. 

The damage done to his premiership was “severe” and showed a “greater level of rejection than any Tory leader has ever endured and survived”, Hague said, slamming Johnson’s failure to tackle the drinking culture in No 10 during the lockdowns.