#democracy on the brink

[filosofablogger]

A Wise Man Speaks ... Will We Listen?

Last week, President Biden gave a speech that has been dubbed one of his best ever, if not THE best ever.  I agree, as does our friend Annie.  Annie’s post from Saturday includes a video link to the speech, a link to the full transcript, but also, in the interest of time, she has culled the most relevant parts of the speech into an abbreviated transcript.  If you do nothing else, I hope you will…

[orc-apologist]

it's funny how when you'll give actual explanations as to why people are racist or transphobic or something similar, like how that happens and why it's happening now out of all times, that go beyond "white people/cishet people evil" so many people will instantly attack you for "apologia"

I think it kinda comes from this idea that identity politics has pushed that people of the unmarked categories like male white and cishet can't possibly struggle with things in life. but economic crises, which we have been in for 16 years now, affect everyone that's not part of the ruling class. prolonged economic instability alienates people from the status quo, from established parties, rhetoric and such. they begin to look elsewhere for solutions. the powers that be know to counteract this with reactionary politics. using scapegoating they'll promise the return to an (often imaginary) better yesterday, the very definition of reactionary politics.

these ideas sound plausible and actionable. things used to be better after all. those scapegoats used to not be there (as visibly) after all.

the way of solving this isn't to go "waaahh people are evil and fascism is back, woe is me" but to a) point out that these reactionary politics are not going to solve the problem because they are not the cause b) point out the actual cause of the problem (capitalism) c) offer actual alternatives (organizing, strikes, expropriating the bourgeoisie, and eventually total labor democracy)

[reasonsforhope]

For all the concern in recent years that U.S. democracy is on the brink, in danger or under threat, a report out Tuesday offers a glimmer of good news for American voters worried that casting a ballot will be difficult in 2024.

Put simply, the new data shows that voting in America has gotten easier over the past two decades. More voters have the ability to cast a ballot before Election Day, with the majority of U.S. states now offering some form of early in-person voting and mail voting to all voters.

"Although we often talk in a partisan context about voter fraud and voter suppression and whether voters have access to the ballot, the reality is, over the past 25 years, we've greatly increased the convenience of voting for almost all Americans," said David Becker, the founder and executive director of the Center for Election Innovation & Research (CEIR), which authored the new report...

The data shows that, despite real efforts by some Republican-led legislatures to restrict access at the margins, the trend in the U.S. since 2000 has been toward making it easier to vote: Nearly 97% of voting-age American citizens now live in states that offer the option to vote before Election Day.

"The lies about early voting, the lies about voting machines and efforts in some state legislatures to roll back some of the election integrity and convenience measures that have evolved over the last several decades, those efforts almost all failed," Becker said. "In almost every single state, voters can choose to vote when they want to."

Forty-six states and Washington, D.C., offer some form of early in-person voting, the report tallied, and 37 of those jurisdictions also offer mail voting to all voters without requiring an excuse...

In 2000

In 2024

Infographic via NPR. If you go to the article, you can watch an animation of this map that shows voting availability in every election since 2000.

There are some political trends that show up in the data. Of the 14 states that don't offer mail voting to all voters, for instance, 12 have Republican-led legislatures.

-via NPR, March 19, 2024. Article continues below.

But maybe the more striking trends are geographic. Every single state in the western U.S. has offered some form of early and mail voting to all voters since 2004, according to the data. And those states span the political spectrum, from conservative Idaho to liberal California.

"It's really hard to talk about partisanship around this issue because historically there just hasn't been much," Mann said. "We've seen voting by mail and early in-person voting supported by Republican legislatures, Democratic legislatures, Republican governors, Democratic governors. We see voters in both parties use both methods." ...

In 2020, New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts all made changes to make voting more easily accessible, which have since partially or fully become permanent. Delaware is currently embroiled in a legal fight over whether it can implement early and mail voting changes this election cycle as well.

The South, with its history of slavery and Jim Crow laws, has long lagged behind when it comes to voting access. The CEIR data shows that, although some states have slowly started expanding options for voters, generally it is still the most difficult region for voters to cast a ballot.

As options nationwide have become more widely available, voters have also responded by taking advantage.

In the 2000 election, 86% of voters voted at a polling place on Election Day, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

In 2020, during the pandemic, that number dropped to less than 31% of voters. It went back up in 2022, to roughly half of the electorate, but was still in line with the two-decade trend toward more ballots being cast early.

...in reality, Becker says, more voting options actually make elections more secure and less susceptible to malicious activity or even human error.

"If there were a problem, if there were a cyber event, if there were a malfunction, if there were bad weather, if there were traffic, if there were was a power outage, you could think of all kinds of circumstances. ... The more you spread voting out over a series of days and over multiple modes, the less likely it's going to impact voters," he said...

-via NPR, March 19, 2024

[hazeltongzhi]

If morality isn't important, why should anyone care about feeding children, stopping fascism, and fighting imperialism?

Because its materially beneficial. Nothing about the proleterian program is built on morality because morality is shaped by the material base of a society and reinforced by its superstructure. It's an awkward middle-man that fails to adequately address or explain material phenomenon.

When you are pushed to the brink, do you care about some moral framework? If you have to steal to live another day, is it the vague rules of morality feed you? You steal, not because you hate morality, but because you will waste away if you dont. Because of how easy it is to simply ignore, reshape, and justify action under some moral code or another, it is a useless tool for analyzing, explaining, and directing action. Instead, you find that the drivers of action are material needs and material conditions. Morality forms based on those needs and conditions and are shaped for each class as such.

Under liberal democracy, morality is centered on profit and exploitation. It is moral to have private property rights and to ensure them. It is moral to exploit workers for profit. Therefore, the imperialist west carries out genocide and invasion in pursuit of profit with no serious moral qualms. For another example, effective altruism is a philosophy more or less based on continuing the status quo and allowing for the accumulation of massive profits under the guise of "saving the future" (highly reductive but it is a philosophy for the bourgeoisie for a reason). Bourgeoisie morality is highly individualistic and selfish and it is so because it fulfills their material interests.

Proletarians, however, favor a collective morality that puts the community and others above themselves. This makes sense since, to survive, the proletarians must band together and protect their material interests. So, as a result, you see proletarian moral codes align to protect the group interests, e.g. favoring the socialist mode of production, "from each according to his abilities to each accoeding to his need", and etc..

Discussions on morality hides and obfuscates the real drivers of action, materialism, under a vague cooud of rules and philosophies which do not greatly contribute to real human actions. Therefore, such discussions are useless in a scientific analysis of society nor in prescribing actions for classes.

[hrryshoney]

only angel

A/N: the ppl voted and my blog is a democracy. i’ve written a couple blurbs abt this but here is the full fic :) i love this freak nasty man so here u guys go. (also, don’t like it? don’t read it! ;)) abt 3.6k words. also ty to my friends molly, olive, and josie for helping me out w bits and pieces of this. ily guys @think0fmehigh @automaticllamacycle @ilwysleep

warnings: smut 18 +, breeding kink, cum play, degradation, praise, size kink, corruption kink, taboo topics/power imbalance (doctor/patient), fingering, a lil oral (fem receiving), light choking, light spanking (once across the face, completely consensual), masturbation w toy (f!), mean dom!matty, use of Bunny, maybe petplay if u squint, dom and sub dynamics, problematic age gap maybe (reader is 22/23, matty is 29/30), dirty talk, lots more this is filthy etc..

You felt restless. Matty was at work, and you were home clenching your thighs together. You didn't have a class today, and so that meant no distractions either. You were ovulating, and your body was making sure you knew that fact.

Matty had left you aching this morning. Riling you up on purpose. Lingering touches on your thighs, caressing your bare skin. He didn’t listen to your whines or pleas, condescendingly reminding you that he has ‘important work to do, more important than getting you off.’ So, you lay in bed tossing and turning. Waiting for Matty’s return, however pathetic that sounds.

And time seemed to drag, nothing working as an efficient distraction. Every time you turned in bed, you swore you could smell Matty's scent each time. You couldn't find a comfortable position, and you were seriously contemplating going back to sleep. There was no reason for you to be awake anyway. Not when you had to just wallow here.

You would touch yourself. Slip your hand down under the waistband of your panties, rubbing your clit until you cum over your own fingers. But, you did make a promise. A promise to Matty this morning that you would be a good girl and wait for him to get home from work. That if you did wait, he would reward you.

You were on the brink of insanity, to disobey him or not? You didn't think you could, so you let your eyes flutter shut. Falling back into a state of light sleep, the white noise of the fan lulling you into a dream that you weren't going to remember when you woke up.

...

You woke up the same way you went to sleep, a dull ache between your legs. Grinding your teeth together, you threw the covers off your hot body and made your way to the bathroom. You were happy your boyfriend had a master bedroom with an attached bathroom, it made everything easier. You reached for your toothbrush, catching your reflection in the mirror. And, maybe you did look a little desperate. But who could blame you? It was really Matty's fault.

After you brushed your teeth, you decided you would take a cold shower. If nothing could snap you out of the state you were in, surely this would. You reached in, turning the handle to the coolest setting. Grabbing two towels and hanging them over the glass, stepping into the shower.

Even being in the ice cold shower for at least 20 minutes was no help. Images of you and Matty in the shower together came flooding back, only making you clench your thighs together more. How he would squeeze your hips if he was here, pressing you up against the glass and moving to get between your legs.

You shook your head as if trying to rid yourself of the thoughts. Stepping out of the shower, you wrapped one of the towels around your body. Opening the door to the bedroom, you walked to Matty's dresser and took one of his old band tees out. You threw it on after drying yourself off, along with a pair of simple white panties that had a small bow on the front. The pair you had worn when you first met him, you smiled at the thought.

After that, you crawled back into bed. You really had nothing to do. No work to catch up on, no shows to watch, and nothing to focus on. Your attention still lingering on the way your cunt throbbed under the fabric of your panties. You tried to remind yourself, listen to your promise.

But weren't promises made to be broken, anyway? You reasoned with yourself. You knew Matty. You knew that even his punishments could be taken as rewards. You knew that he could never do anything too bad to you. So, break the rules you did.

You tried to lose yourself in the pleasure, fingers working yourself as you shut your eyes tightly. But they didn't hit the same spots that Matty's did. And they never felt the same. Then, you remembered. You remembered the toy Matty had bought you so you could use it together. The one he kept in a shoebox in his closet, along with the other toys you two would frequently use.

You got up from the bed, searching for the black box on the floor of Matty's closet. Finding it almost immediately, taking the lid off and searching for the toy. A dildo that was almost as big as him, the next best thing if he wasn't there for you. Not that it felt nearly as good, but it sufficed when you were desperate like this.

Walking the familiar journey, you lied back down on the bed. The cold sheets making goosebumps raise on your arms. Matty's scent completely enveloped you now that you had his shirt on. You ran your hands over your own body teasingly. You knew you didn't have to do much to prep yourself, you've been ready all day.

You let your fingers slide under the band of your panties, tracing your slit. You were already so wet, moaning quietly as your finger bumped your clit. You moved the fabric to the side, beginning to get impatient with yourself. Your fingers swirled around your entrance, collecting the slick that was dripping from you and bringing it up to your clit.

You rubbed circles on your bundle of nerves, resisting bucking your hips into your own hand. You took the toy, bringing it down to your hole. The tip of the dildo prodding at your entrance, you pushed it inside of you slowly. Moaning out, one of your hands slid under your (Matty’s) shirt to tweak at your nipple. You bit your lip hard enough to draw blood.

Pushing the toy fully inside of yourself, you brought your pointer finger to rub lightly at your clit. You could feel yourself clenching around it, brining your hand back to the base so you could move it in and out of you slowly. You breathing picked up, chest heaving as you allowed yourself to give in to pleasure.

That was your first mistake, you guessed. Or maybe that was not checking the time when you woke up. As you didn’t hear Matty’s car pull up in the driveway. Nor did you hear the front door close, or his footsteps as he made his way up the stairs. You didn’t hear the creek of the door, eyes squeezed shut and head thrown back in pleasure. But, you did hear the clicking of someone’s tongue. You gasped, hand coming to splay out over your chest. Eyes opening wide, head shooting up to see your boyfriend standing in the doorway.

Your body was warm all over. The fact that you had gotten caught, but also breaking his rules? You felt shame creep up your neck. The toy was still inside of you fully, cunt dripping wet as you looked at the smirk on Matty’s face. He walked over towards the bed, shaking his head the whole time.

“What’s this, princess? Didn’t listen to your Doctor’s orders?” He mused, knee leaning on the bed as he rubbed your bare thigh with one hand. He trailed one finger from your leg, scratching his fingernail over your abdomen as he brought it down to your other thigh. You twitched slightly and he chuckled.

You whined as Matty practically drank you in with his eyes. His hand coming up to bunch his old band tee between his fist. “N-no, m’sorry, Doctor. But you left me. You left me, and I’ve been so needy all day.” You felt childish, tears pricking at the corners of your eyes. The faux pout you received back from Matty only made more arousal pour out of you.

Matty ignored your words, gazing at you like a predator. “Use this often when I’m gone, baby?” He pointed at the you, gesturing as if he was disgusted at the thought of you using it alone. “Only cock you should be taking is mine.” His tone was full of condescension and it made you dizzy. You clenched involuntarily. His eyes followed the movement, looking between your legs.

“Please, Doctor. I’m sorry. I want you so bad.” You begged for him, lashes fluttering as you looked up and tears filled your lash line. “Need you inside of me, it’s not the same. Want you to fill me up.” And maybe you were laying it on thick, but it was all the truth. You’ve been so needy for him all day.

“S’a shame, bunny.” He laughs at your reaction to the word, rolling your hips into the air. “You couldn’t listen to me. Think you deserve to get fucked with a real cock? That’s only for good girls, not whores like you.” He traced the outline of your panties that were pulled aside, lingering for a moment. Tapping the base of the dildo inside of you, he stretched the band of your elastic and let it snap back against your skin.

You groaned, feet planted on the bed as you raised your hips up. He circled your clit, pinching it lightly and watching the shock run throughout your body. “I- I am good, Matty. Please, I wasn’t gonna cum without you.” You whimper as Matty slaps the toy again, then grabbing the base and beginning to move it in and out of you.

Matty scoffs at your words. “You weren’t going to, or you just couldn’t?” He says with a definite tone, pulling the dildo fully out of you. He ran the silicone toy through your slick, then tapped it on your clit three times. You dig your nails into the sheets, trying to not move. “Wanna see you stuff yourself with it, since y’were so eager.” Matty takes his hands off your body completely, moving to the tent in his pants.

You could see that he was straining against his work pants, cock begging to be released from the confines of the fabric. You could imagine how it looked, all flushed and pretty, leaking precum for you. Matty palmed himself over the material, letting his hips buck up. He squeezed his very visible length. You swore your mouth watered.

Your hand went to the toy, body begging for some type of friction. You fucked yourself with it, getting lost in the way Matty looked as he rubbed himself over his pants. It felt good, but it wasn’t him. You would never be able to cum like this. “Doctor Healy, please. I need you so bad, you’re the only one who can make me feel like this. Nothing else.” You pleaded with him, hoping he’d show some mercy. Maybe you were wrong earlier, maybe Matty could stand to punish you.

As if he read your mind, Matty just smirked at you. He was almost breathless as he shook his head. “You couldn’t be a good girl, my good girl, and wait. Now you have to be satisfied with a plastic dick, princess.” His grin made you infuriated, skin heating up. You moved your hand between your legs faster, closing your eyes. You felt a slap on your thigh, your skin stinging from the impact. Your eyes snapped open. “Look at me. You were thinking of me, right? Well, now I’m in front of you. Don’t be selfish, bunny.” He spit his words at you meanly, the smirk on his face making you lightheaded.

You thought you could cry. You kept a steady rhythm, but you just couldn’t hit the right spots. “Please, Doctor. Need your help, can’t do it by myself. Don’t wanna think.” You jutted your bottom lip out, hand slowing down as Matty sat up straighter. He stopped palming himself, leaning closer to you. His hands trailed up your thighs, meeting between them where your hands were.

He took over, how moving the toy inside of you with more fervor than before. His other hand came to swipe at your clit, the position had you moaning gutturally. The lewd noises that emitted as he fucked you were enough to make you embarrassed. Of course, Matty had something to say. “Little slut can’t even touch herself properly? Guess I’ll have to teach her.” He moved the dildo at a particular angle that had you screaming out.

“Oh my God, Matty! Right there- Please, I’m gonna cum.” You barely got through your sentence before three of Matty’s fingers were on your clit. They rubbed the nerves harshly, determined to get you to your climax. Your whole body shuddered as you came, slurring out a mix of his honorific and his name. Falling from your lips like a prayer. Matty fucked you through your orgasm with the toy, pulling it out of you when he saw you had come down from you high. You felt Matty’s tongue come to lap at your clit, flattening it against your juices. Your hands immediately came to tug at his hair from overstimulation.

He leaned up, pulling you in for a bruising kiss. His hands were on either side of your jaw as he slipped his tongue in your mouth. He swallowed your moans, and you could taste yourself on his tongue. “Don’t we taste good together, princess?” You nodded obediently at him, and you saw the glimmer of mischief in his eye. “Wanna taste yourself again?” He asked nonchalantly, bringing the dildo that had just been inside of you to your lips. You opened your mouth eagerly. Lips wide and tongue flat, Matty shoved the toy inside your mouth. You moaned around the object, the taste of your own juices coating on your tongue. You opened your mouth and swirled your tongue along the tip for show, watching as Matty’s eyes darkened and jaw clenched. “Don’t be a fuckin’ tease.” He pushed the toy aside, shoving your jaw away.

His hand wrapped lightly around your throat, and he brought three fingers down to your entrance. You were already so fucked out, and you knew he wasn’t stopping anytime soon. Matty’s moved his hand and pushed your (his) shirt up over your chest. He pinched and played with your exposed nipples, sucking on them until they were completely hard. He blew on your sensitive buds, reveling in the way you squirmed from the cold air.

He pushed two fingers into your cunt easily, already being so wet and open for him. You gasped, clenching your thighs as me moved his digits rapidly. “Tight little cunt, even after I stretched you out like that. Practically fucked you open.” He shook his head, spitting on your pussy. “Can’t wait to fuck you dumb, princess.” He added another finger, stretching you out even more. “Perfect little cock sleeve for me. M’glad you know your place.” Matty spoke blissfully, almost more lost in it than you.

“P-please, Doctor. Need you inside of me. Want you to fuck me and fill me up.” You babbled and nodded your head, trying to chase another high as Matty’s fingers never ceased their relentless pace. You didn’t even realize what you said, but you realized how he slightly faltered. Rhythm stopping for a beat, breath hitching. His hand moved to your stomach, pressing down.

“Yeah, princess? Want me to put a baby in there? You want everyone to know you belong to me, that your doctor got you pregnant?” He snickered, removing his hand from your pussy. He took his fingers up to his mouth, sucking off any remnants of you.

Matty stood up to unzip his pants, finally feeling relief on his hard cock. He unbuttoned his top, shrugging it off to the floor. You got lost in his tattoos, how his muscular arms bulged every time he moved. You knew your mouth was agape, and you were just feeding his ego even more. But how could you not? Especially when he steps out of his pants, pulling his briefs down. His hard cock almost slapped against his abdomen, the tip an angry red color. He was leaking pre cum, and he stroked himself twice as he squeezed his length in his fist. “Open your legs for me.”

You put your legs up on the bed, opening them as wide as your body allowed. Your panties that had been pulled to the side were now fully discarded of, as he roughly pulled them off your body. Muttering something of how he ‘wasn’t gonna let anything get in the way.’ He lined himself up with your entrance, but didn’t push himself inside of you. You took that as your window to beg for him.

“Doctor- Matty, please. I need you inside of me so bad. Just wanna feel your cock inside my cunt, it’s all I need. Wanna feel you cum inside of me.” You whined out, your rambling coming to an end as he pushed inside of you without warning. Matty made you take him to the hilt, burying himself inside of your warm cunt. Your slick pouring out around him.

Matty pounded into you, hand finding home on your neck again. His hips slapped against yours, combining with your wetness and filling the room with filthy sounds. Both you and Matty’s moans filling the empty spaces. “Cunts clinging to me, just sucking me right in. Can tell she wants me to cum inside of her.” Matty stopped his rhythm for a moment just to slap your clit. “Tell me ‘thank you’.” He said smugly.

The way he talked about your pussy made you clench around him in embarrassment, face heating up. He tightened his grip on your throat, squeezing the sides. You felt dizzy in the best way possible.

“W-why should I? You haven’t even finished with me yet.” Your smirk and bratty attitude didn’t last for long, he lightly slapped you across the face. Just enough for it to sting. Your body felt like it was buzzing, and your hole clenched around him.

“Messy girl.” He tsked, hips stuttering. He pulled his cock out of you. Making you whine in protest. “Shouldn’t even fill you up, bad girls don’t deserve my cum.” You know he’s bluffing, but your eyes go wide in fear. He wouldn’t leave you high and dry.

“N-no! Matty, m’sorry. Please, Doctor. You know I need it.” You folded immediately. Your body was restless from the lack of contact know, the only thigh touching you were his hands ghosting up your sides.

He ignored your pleas. "You know, bunny," You moan out as Matty speaks, running the tip of his cock through your soaking folds, pulling back when you try to arch into him. "Best time to try and knock you up is right now, when you're ovulating." Whines fall from your lips helplessly, pleasure being robbed from you as he keeps pulling away from your cunt. Of course he remembers the cycles of your body. "Gotta make sure it takes. Can't have you wasting my cum, right?" He chuckles at your reaction, his thumb pressing down on your clit as he brings his cock to your entrance again.

You feel full again as he presses into you, and your body felt like it was on fire. You nodded along to everything he said, easily obeying him. You needed to cum, and you needed his cum, too. “God, Matty. I’m close, please.”

“Hold it.” He replies, rubbing hard and firm circles on your button. “Tight hole is creaming around me. Little bunny, should get you a collar. Tie you down and keep this pussy stuffed full all day.” You groaned out, no longer being able to string a coherent sentence together. All you could do was shake your head. Matty chuckled. “Yeah, bunny? Like that idea? Maybe we should get you a tail, too.” Your senses were on overdrive. Matty really was fucking you dumb. And he almost seemed pussy drunk himself.

“Come on, princess. Cum around my cock, let me feel you.” He spit on his fingers, bringing them down to your clit, letting it drip down to where you two were connected. It sent you over the edge, coming for the second time that night. Your eyes rolled back in your head, throat already sore from how you were screaming his name and title. You felt Matty’s dick twitch inside of you, his steady pace faltering.

“Fuck- gonna fill this cunt up.” He groaned out in a raspy voice, and you felt the warm liquid painting your insides as his chest heaved. You moaned at the feeling, loving how he felt inside of you. You could see beads of sweat on Matty’s forehead when you opened your eyes, and a blissful smile crossed your face. You moved the hair from his forehead, and he smiled back at you.

When Matty pulled out, you winced from the empty feeling. He watched as his cum started to leak out of you, reaching up by your head to grab a pillow from the top of the bed. He positioned it under your hips, scooping up the cum that had already dripped out and pushing it back inside of you. He bumped your clit as he did so, enjoying the way you jolted. He let his fingers slip inside of you again, hooking them as he found that spot that made you go crazy. You felt tears prick your eyes. Matty poured in faux sympathy. “Oh- I know, baby. I know. S’that my spot? Just know this little cunt too well.” He curled his fingers inside of you again, leaving them now to act as a sort of plug. You giggled, slapping his shoulder. “Matty!”

“What? M’gonna make sure you get pregnant.” You could barely see the brown in his eyes, pupils completely blown out. He smiled, leaning in to kiss the top of your forehead. “Wanna see you all round and full of me. Even if that means fucking you every day this week, and again tonight.” And from his tone of voice alone, you knew Matty was deadly serious.

[deadpresidents]

How scared are you of another Trump Presidency?

Fucking petrified.

I know people think it's hyperbole or an election year exaggeration, but I genuinely think our democracy is on the brink of collapse because of his actions, rhetoric, and the dangerous cult of personality he's been able to indoctrinate tens of millions of Americans to blindly and ignorantly follow. Look no further than the fact that a majority of the Republicans in Congress have endorsed or indicated that they intend to endorse the person who incited an insurrection against the Constitution and against THEM just three years ago. They are supporting a former President who was impeached twice and has been charged with 91 felonies under four separate criminal indictment. That is their standard-bearer. And even if you could strip away all the lying and the criminal charges and the narcissism and the threats and the bizarre behavior, he was still just straight-up shockingly terrible at leading the country and doing the job he was elected to do.

He is a cancer and I'm terrified at the prospect of him being unleashed upon a country that is already very, very sick.

[determinate-negation]

The historical record demonstrates that dramatic progress on welfare indicators occurred in the core economies after 1880, with the rise of the labor movement, social democratic parties, and movements that secured suffrage for working men and, later, for women. These gains accelerated in the early/mid twentieth-century, delivering extremely high welfare ratios. It is crucial to understand that the gains during this latter period were due not only to progressive movements within the core, but also to socialist movements in the periphery, which were (especially in the case of the USSR) demonstrating that socialist and communist alternatives were possible. The rise of socialism in the East inspired socialist movements in the West (most famously in Germany, which came to the brink of a socialist revolution during the Spartacist and Ruhr uprisings of 1919–20). These revolutionary movements posed a real threat to capitalism in the core. Capitalism survived in part by crushing these movements—quite often violently, but also by making concessions to working-class demands, including wage improvements and some public services, although never conceding to the core demands for decommodification and economic democracy. Thus, the rise of the social democratic welfare state.

Capital accumulation requires cheap labor, however, and these concessions would have brought capitalism in the core to its knees were it not for the fact that capitalists were able to obtain cheap labor instead in the periphery, through colonial and neocolonial forms of appropriation, which continue to this day.10 The unique privilege of imperialism allowed capital in the core to maintain accumulation despite concessions to its working classes—a privilege that is not available to most states in the periphery.11 This is what explains the extreme disparity that persists between social indicators in the capitalist core (where the average welfare ratio of an unskilled laborer is 10–20) versus those in the capitalist periphery, where the average welfare ratio is less than 2, and where in many cases wages and/or heights have not recovered from the immiseration caused during the period of capitalist integration.12 To understand the relationship between capitalism and human welfare today, we must look at living conditions in the capitalist periphery.

Of course, the core could have taken a different direction. It could have accepted the demands of workers and anti-imperialist movements, abandoned the imperatives of capital accumulation, and transitioned to a postcapitalist system—thus achieving social progress without imperialism. Social progress does not require imperialism. Capitalism does.

Capitalism, Global Poverty, and the Case for Democratic Socialism by Jason Hickel and Dylan Sullivan

[tamamita]

I think part of the issue that people dont understand is that under the conditions that the Palestinian people have been put under for the past 80+ years there really is no hope for things getting better and since a majority of the population of Gaza is young they see it (rightfully so) as either simply dying or joining Hamas (regardless of their opinion on the actions of the organization as a whole) and at least dying while fighting for a better future for Palestinians. Groups like Hamas only form in conditions where people are pushed to their absolute brink and come to the conclusion that dying fighting is a more respectable death than simply dying in silence. (im sure my perspective as a westerner is limited tho so im sorry for any misconceptions i have)

It's a western centric notion, because they assume that the Palestinians must abide by peaceful means if they want material improvements, the reality of the issue is that all of this is imposed by Israel, not Hamas. Hamas is a reaction to the oppression of Palestine and the Palestinians.

For example, the occupation of water:

(source)

It's intentional, Israel has done everything in order to deprave and dehumanize Palestinians by breaking international laws over and over again, and then pitch the blame upon Hamas when Hamas hits back. Democracy is not gonna help with eleviating the material loss, because Israel is in full power and has been for the past 75 years. Israel only wants Palestinian elections to favour their policies, that's why Palestinians grew disillusioned with the PLO when the Oslo Accords failed. Together with its allies, Israel wishes for the Palestinians to concede their dignity and submit to their laws and policies in return for a few material benefits. Israel is effectively blackmailing the Palestinian people.

[reality-detective]

I think we're nearing "End Game" "Checkmate" where things are about to get real crazy? 👇

Black Swan Event! The World’s Most Powerful Families Are Crafting Global Chaos – Trump Is Leading the Fight Against a Globalist Cabal!

In the clandestine corridors of power, a sinister plot is unfolding—one that mocks the very democracy and freedom we hold dear. This is not just another historical manipulation, but a shadow war waged by a cabal of power-hungry elites, tracing their bloodlines back to the darkest realms of the Illuminati and the counterfeit AshkeNAZI lineage.

The Rothschilds, Rockefellers, and their ilk have orchestrated every major catastrophe of the 20th and 21st centuries. From the World Wars to economic collapses and the recent pandemic, each disaster serves their ultimate goal: total global domination through chaos and despair.

The United Nations and Israel? Not geopolitical strategies, but key pieces in their grand chess game. Under the guise of international cooperation, these institutions enable the elites to conduct heinous crimes—from human trafficking rings to covert biological warfare on innocent populations. The CIA is merely a puppet in their hands, enforcing their will across the globe, with Ukraine becoming the latest battleground where their twisted agenda plays out.

But it doesn’t stop there. The elites have infiltrated every corner of society—from the financial crashes they orchestrate to the dictators they install. Even Google, Facebook, and YouTube are weapons in their arsenal, controlling thought, manipulating reality, and silencing those who dare to speak out.

As these elites sense their plans unraveling, they retreat into private banking and cryptic financial channels, but their ultimate aim remains clear: the collapse of global economies to establish a new world order under their absolute control. They think their plan is foolproof, but they didn't anticipate the rise of counterforces.

Trump and General Flynn have been laying the groundwork for a massive counterstrike, executing covert operations to dismantle the Deep State from within. The Quantum Financial System (QFS), a revolutionary technology, is their secret weapon, designed to overthrow the corrupt financial structures of the elites and bring about a new era of transparency and freedom.

As the world teeters on the brink of a Black Swan event, engineered economic meltdowns and social chaos are distractions from their true aim: the Great Reset. This terrifying new world order would mark the end of monetary privacy and the final tightening of their iron grip on the global populace.

But patriots worldwide, take heed! The storm is here. This battle for the soul of humanity is not some far-off conflict—it’s happening now. Trump’s coalition is fighting on the frontlines, preparing to activate the QFS and dismantle the elite’s centuries-old network.

Stay alert, stay vigilant. The Great Awakening has arrived. This is our moment—resist, or be swept away in their final bid for tyranny. The truth is your weapon, and awareness your shield. The endgame is here.

This is why I have been saying there won't be an election. It's going to get ugly! 🤔

[dailyanarchistposts]

Abolishing Capitalism

None of these options are long-term solutions. We live in a civilization based on the separation of society into haves and have-nots. This cannot be allowed to continue.

The entirety of potential political and social structures don’t balance on the axis of capitalism (and democracy, somehow always lumped with capitalism) and state communism. Capitalists would love for you to believe that, of course, because state communism is so clearly a terrible idea; they would love for people to think capitalism is the only alternative to Stalinist atrocity.

Capitalism is an atrocity, however, as a quick survey will let us know. Capitalism (the idea of not working for your money, but instead siphoning the wealth produced by others) has led us to the very brink of planetary ecocide with its mindless search for profit (a feature included even in the dictionary definition!).

Many people have theorized ways of eradicating the rampant criminality of capitalism. Socialism isn’t actually a dirty word, and can mean a whole host of things, many of which are as far from Stalinism as a system could possibly be.

But the simplest one is this: we, as small communities (often overlapping ones), can make decisions for ourselves by the means we best see fit. We can feed and care for ourselves and each other. We can work in ways that make us happy, we can work for projects that actually concern us. If we don’t let the ruling class rule us, we won’t be ruled. If you ask me, I’d call this system anarchism. Other people might call it different things like autonomism or horizontalism or just decentralization, direct democracy, or common sense.

But in order to do this, we have to take back the means of production. The rich have the things they have because they are dirty stinking thieves, whether they know it or not.

just a friendly word from some anarchists

[filosofablogger]

There Is Wisdom In These Words

Seth Abramson is a bit of everything from professor of communication arts and sciences to criminal defense attorney to author to political analyst/writer, and his views are usually spot on.  His newsletter this morning hit the nail on the head regarding the Republican Party, debt ceiling, and the GOP intent to destroy not only the president, but the presidency and with it, the democratic…

[heliosoll]

Hii I'm here with regards to your winx Dr!

I've got a few questions, please let me know or just exclude ones that make you uncomfortable or ones you'd prefer not to answer! First question is, what's the winx society like? it's a mix of magic and tech so it's obviously different from ours but besides that what about the culture, the politics? Is there late stage capitalism there or is it more socialist/communist ish in the sense of workers rights, people not being exploited, universal basic income etc? and education, that's one I'm curious about. Is it possible to study both streams of magic i.e fairy and witch at the same time? or r they inherently antithetical to each other and will clash? It just seems so fascinating to me. In a similar ish vein regarding education, what jobs can a fairy take on after they've finished their alfea schooling? what happens to those who didnt manage to save anyone because it's not like there's a life threatening situation where you have to sacrifice yourself everyday? are they asked to stay back another year? how would you say the economy works over there? are jobs necessary in the same way that they are here? or are fairies kinda just given free reign to roam the magixverse and pop in whenever there's trouble along with the specialists and witches? are there research institutions specifically designed to further their knowledge of magic? it feels like the entire political structure and system is different in the winx universe and I absolutely loved that as a kid. oh yea did it take long for you to adjust having wings? do they kinda just pop out when you need to fly? like what's the sensation like? do you mind describing ig the texture? and if they're really as brightly coloured as what we see in the cartoon? im still having trouble imagining wings that can carry an entire person like woah that's incredible now that I think about it! also how exactly do people travel from planet to planet? does everyone have magic inside of them or only a select number? are there spaceships? can you breathe or fight in the vacuum that is space? or does it not work that way in you Dr? it's all so fascinating. do you get a salary? or is there no need for one??

Hi! How fun! Disclaimer that all of my answers are my experiences in my DRs. All DRs are different, so don't worry if there's anything here you don't want to experience!

what's the winx society like? it's a mix of magic and tech so it's obviously different from ours but besides that what about the culture, the politics? Is there late stage capitalism there or is it more socialist/communist ish in the sense of workers rights, people not being exploited, universal basic income etc?

In both of my Winx DRs, there are multiple planets and systems that have various cultures and societies. What society is like really depends on where you are! Lynphea works on a full trade/barter system; only a couple of major cities use money and only for tourists. Eraklyon has an absolute monarchy with figureheads for smaller cities (like Diaspro's family - the Quidoves). Magix has a direct democracy and is on the brink of socialism.

There's a council of representatives from different planets, however, not every planet is included. It can be a very lengthy process as all powers and the majority of people have to want to be on it (there's a voting process that the council holds separate from whoever's in charge), they have to agree to the council's main rules of morals of society (free healthcare and education, rights for all, etc), and the planet has to elect a representative.

I'd say education is best on Lynphea, Magix, and Solaria! Lynphea has some of the best magic programs in the universe, Magix is such a cultural hub that there's very little bias in the teaching, and Solaria is generally really good at balancing between things like science and healthcare vs arts and history. All studies are considered important and worthwhile there! (Fun fact: Helia attended an art school in Solaria in my DRs)! Zenith's education is good, but it's extremely selective and intense. Their primary education is so good that only people who really, really want it (or need it for their career) further their education, which means smaller programs and fewer spots for students. They're working on it hahah

Is it possible to study both streams of magic i.e fairy and witch at the same time? or r they inherently antithetical to each other and will clash? It just seems so fascinating to me.

Well technically, you can study the magic of other streams, but it's not really possible to practice them. Streams, for the most part, work on completely different wavelengths. For example, in order for a Believix fairy to be a Believix fairy, they need to continuously inspire the people around them. If that fairy were to start trying to use a more witchy input (ie feelings of self-will/self-preservation or intense, negative emotions), their output could backfire badly.

Picking a magic stream is a really important decision! This is actually a big reason why so many magic users don't do it. Picking a stream has a lot of pros (more focused magic, community that can make you stronger, certain career choices, etc), but it also has some cons like magical input being extremely particular.

In a similar ish vein regarding education, what jobs can a fairy take on after they've finished their alfea schooling? what happens to those who didnt manage to save anyone because it's not like there's a life threatening situation where you have to sacrifice yourself everyday? are they asked to stay back another year?

Fairies can pick any average day job they want (like accounting)! But you probably mean magic-specific jobs hahah Well, obviously guardian fairies! The Winx were appointed those positions but most fairies would apply for it. They could apply to guard specific areas like a home town or they could even go to the council and be sent on missions where a fairy is needed.

If someone has picked the fairy stream and goes to Alfea, like 9 out of 10 times they're trying to become a guardian fairy. As for other paths, some fairies get into general politics, others the government (a lot of royals at Alfea), and some will just be traveling fairies. Some fairies even set up their own shops for spells and helping people!

So Alfea fairies actually don't graduate until they reach their Enchantix level! Students are given a two-year period after Alfea's third year to complete this and are allowed to live on campus and continue learning during this time. Once the school feels a student is ready, they'll be sent out on missions either by themselves, with other fairies, or with specialists to help in crisis situations on their home planet. It's extremely rare for an Alfea fairy to not reach Enchantix during this time!

how would you say the economy works over there? are jobs necessary in the same way that they are here? or are fairies kinda just given free reign to roam the magixverse and pop in whenever there's trouble along with the specialists and witches?

For jobs, it depends on where you are again! On some planets, they are necessary, and on others, they aren't.

As for fairies, if they want to just roam and help whoever needs help, they'll need to get registered with their governments and the council if their planet is on it.

are there research institutions specifically designed to further their knowledge of magic?

Absolutely! The magic research programs and institutions on Lynphea are actually to dieee for hahah Domino also had a good one for templars but it faded away after the war :(

yea did it take long for you to adjust having wings? do they kinda just pop out when you need to fly? like what's the sensation like? do you mind describing ig the texture? and if they're really as brightly coloured as what we see in the cartoon?

It did take me a while to adjust to having wings and flying! I had never experienced that before, so it was quite weird at first. They do just pop out hahah They won't pop out randomly though, you still need the intention to do it. The sensation of them "coming out" or transforming mostly felt warm to me. It feels like a surge of warm energy/light coursing through your back (and sometimes your whole body). The texture of wings is very silky but kind of like... staticky too... like you get tingles when you touch them hahah The color really depends on the fairy! A lot of fairies do have bright-colored wings, but there are also plenty with darker or muted colors. The colors correspond to the fairy's personality!

also how exactly do people travel from planet to planet?

Spaceships or teleportation. Do you remember the teleportation postcard that Stella showed Bloom in the first season? Those are extremely common!

does everyone have magic inside of them or only a select number?

Not everyone has magic inside of them; some people have some but not enough to use it. It just depends on genetics! People without innate magic can still become magic users though! They just have to harness the magic around them instead of inside them. It's generally a lot harder though :(

are there spaceships?

Yes :) Commercial, private-owned, and military!

can you breathe or fight in the vacuum that is space? or does it not work that way in you Dr?

In my Winx DR, we could fight! We couldn't breathe unless we had Cosmix. In my Specialists DR, we couldn't do either hahah

it's all so fascinating.

I agree :) I love fantasy DRs so much!

do you get a salary? or is there no need for one??

It depends on the planet again! Some planets pay people for work with tangible money/coins/gems, while others pay with lodging/food. On some planets, a job is more of a partnership and you get paid back with experiences, more information on the field, etc.

This was fun! Thank you for all the questions :) I love talking about my Winx DRs hahah

[kcyars99]

Joe Biden is making a selfless and courageous decision to step down from the presidency, putting the preservation of our democracy above personal ambition.

In stark contrast, Donald Trump refused to relinquish power even after losing the election, pushing our democracy to the brink.

I have no doubt that history will remember President Joe Biden with deep gratitude and respect.

[reasonsforhope]

"It was widely described as the week that India’s beleaguered democracy was pulled back from the brink. As the election results rolled in on Tuesday [June 4, 2024], all predictions and polls were defied as Narendra Modi lost his outright majority for the first time in a decade while the opposition re-emerged as a legitimate political force. On Sunday evening, Modi will be sworn in as prime minister yet many believe his power and mandate stands diminished.

For one opposition politician in particular, the humbling of the strongman prime minister was a moment to savour. Late last year, Mahua Moitra, one of the most outspoken critics of Modi and his Bharatiya Janata party (BJP), found herself unceremoniously expelled from parliament and kicked out of her bungalow, after what she described as a “political witch-hunt” for daring to stand up to Modi.

The murky and allegedly undemocratic circumstances of Moitra’s expulsion from parliament was seen by many to symbolise Modi’s approach to dissenting voices and the steady erosion of India’s democracy. She was among several vocal opposition politicians who were subjected to investigations by government crime agencies.

But having won a landslide re-election in her home state of West Bengal, Moitra will return once again to parliament, part of the newly empowered opposition coalition. “I can’t wait,” said Moitra. “They went to egregious lengths to discredit and destroy me and abused every process to do it. If I had gone down, it would have meant that brute force had triumphed over democracy.”

While he may be returning for a historic third term, many have portrayed the results as something of a defeat for Modi, who has had to rely on coalition partners to form a government. The BJP’s campaign had been solely centred around him – even the manifesto was titled “Modi’s guarantee” – and in many constituencies, local BJP candidates often played second fiddle to the prime minister, who loomed large over almost every seat. He told one interviewer he believed his mandate to rule was given directly by God.

“Modi’s aura was invincibility, that the BJP could not win elections without him,” said Moitra. “But the people of India didn’t give him a simple majority. They were voting against authoritarianism and they were voting against fascism. This was an overwhelming, resounding anti-Modi vote.”

During his past decade in power, Modi and the BJP enjoyed a powerful outright majority and oversaw an unprecedented concentration of power under the prime minister’s office, where key decisions were widely known to be made by a select few.

The Modi government was accused of imposing various authoritarian measures, including the harassment and arrest of critics under terrorism laws, while the country tumbled in global democracy and press freedom rankings. Modi never faced a press conference or any committee of accountability for the often divisive actions of his government. Politicians regularly complained that parliament was simply reduced to a rubber-stamping role for the BJP’s Hindu-first agenda.

Yet on Tuesday [June 40, it became clear that the more than 25 opposition parties, united as a coalition under the acronym INDIA, had inflicted substantial losses on the BJP to take away its simple majority. Analysts said the opposition’s performance was all the more remarkable given that the BJP stands accused of subverting and manipulating the election commission, as well as putting key opposition leaders behind bars and far outspending all other parties on its campaign. The BJP has denied any attempts to skew the election in its favour.

“This election proved that the voter is still the ultimate king,” said Moitra. “Modi was so shameless, yet despite them using every tool they had to engineer this election to their advantage, our democracy fought back.”

Moitra said she was confident it was “the end of Mr Modi’s autocratic way of ruling”. Several of the parties in the BJP’s alliance who he is relying on for a parliamentary majority and who will sit in Modi’s cabinet do not share his Hindu nationalist ideology...

Moitra was not alone in describing this week’s election as a reprieve for the troubling trajectory of India’s democracy. Columns heralding that the “mirror has cracked” and the “idea of India is reborn” were plastered across the country’s biggest newspapers, and editorials spoke of the end of “supremo syndrome”. “The bulldozer now has brakes,” wrote the Deccan Chronicle newspaper. “And once a bulldozer has brakes, it becomes just a lawnmower.” ...

“This was not a normal election, it was clearly an unfair and unlevel playing field,” said Yadav. “But still, there is now a hope and a possibility that the authoritarian element could be reversed.”

Harsh Mander, one of India’s most prominent human rights and peace activists who is facing numerous criminal investigations for his work, called the election the “most important in India’s post independence history”, adding: “The resilience of Indian democracy has proved to be spectacular.”

He said it was encouraging that an “intoxication of majoritarian hate politics” had not ultimately shaped the outcome, referring to Modi’s apparent attempts to stir up religious animosity on the campaign trail as he referred to Muslims as “infiltrators” and “those who have more children”.

“The past decade has seen the freedom of religion and the freedom of conscience and dissent taken away,” said Mander. “If this election had gone fully the BJP way, then India would not remain a constitutional secular democracy.”"

-via The Guardian, June 9, 2024

[mightymorphinnegro]

🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨ATTENTION!🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨

We’re on the brink of a catastrophic turning point. Trump and the GOP are methodically dismantling our democracy, exploiting every loophole, and stacking the courts to establish a permanent ruling class. Their goal is clear: to strip away the rights of minorities, women, and anyone who doesn’t fit their elite mold, creating a new era of legal discrimination and oppression.

⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️

If they regain power, they’ll rewrite the rules to ensure they never lose it again, undoing decades of civil rights progress and plunging us into a dystopian nightmare. This isn’t just another election—it’s a battle for the soul of our nation.

⛔️⛔️⛔️⛔️⛔️⛔️⛔️⛔️⛔️⛔️⛔️⛔️⛔️⛔️⛔️

The stakes couldn’t be higher, and the consequences will be felt for generations. This is an emergency, and every single one of us needs to sound the alarm. Understand the system, educate others, and vote like your future depends on it—because it does. We have one shot to stop them, and the time is now. It's up to you! 👍🏿

[redpenship]

i had to write a 6k word research paper last semester in which i had to do hypothesis testing relating to any subject about WMDs. my idea was to test why states step away from the brink of developing nuclear weapons or get rid of them, with a focus on two explanations: domestic normative changes (so, attitudes regarding nuclear weapons) and security-based explanations (do nuclear weapons provide meaningful defence to the state in question?). this was done in tandem with my plotting for buzzsaw 2, which made me curious about the strategic utility of projecting "safety" or "neutrality" to potential aggressors. the core dilemma in the story is about whether or not aliens can be trusted, or more specifically if kindness is present throughout the universe. it's really all about perception--so, how an individual perceives aliens. to link this with my paper topic, i was specifically seeking to prove that perceptions of nuclear weapons had a greater influence on the lack of horizontal proliferation than security issues. my findings were kind of interesting.

basically, i was proven incorrect. i used congruence analysis (comparing various states and why they did or did not acquire nuclear weapons) to do my hypothesis testing. i feel like rambling a little bit, so here are some of my favourite cases:

Canada (Nuclear weapons capacity: HIGH -- large domestic sources of uranium, multiple research reactors that could be converted to uranium-enrichment facilities for weapons production, encouragement from US to create arsenal, and sufficient high-tech weaponry knowledge to develop an arsenal). Normative explanation: Canadians on average do not perceive military strength as being a source of national pride. It isn't very important in the national consciousness. Security Explanations: Proximity to US means that any nuclear strikes on Canadian territory will provoke US retaliation against the aggressor. Moreover, Canada's nuclear weapons policy at the time emphasized the avoidance of negative security externalities--leaders believed that acquiring nuclear weapons would provoke enemy states into doing the same, and so chose not to obtain them.

Sweden (Nuclear weapons capacity: MEDIUM -- domestic plutonium sources, advanced weapons systems) Normative Explanations: Public support for acquiring a nuclear arsenal reached a high of 57% in 1959. A successful anti-nuclear weapons campaign by the Social Democrat Party sought to make Swedish identity and the possession of nuclear weapons "incompatible" lowered public support to 31% by 1967. The nuclear weapons program lost public support entirely within a decade. Security Explanations: Sweden was most concerned about a Soviet invasion of Western Europe. Despite being a neutral state, their leaders came to the conclusion that the United States would defend any western European state from Soviet expansion to prevent its sphere of influence from growing further. As well, Sweden was worried about provoking the USSR and chose not to develop an arsenal for this reason as well.

Brazil (Nuclear weapons capacity: MEDIUM -- similar reasons to Sweden) Normative Explanations: Brazil's nuclear weapons program occurred under its military dictatorship. After its collapse, the civilian government ended all plans to develop an arsenal. I'm not taking into consideration how Brazilians felt about it because it was a secret program. Security Explanations: The military regime was primarily concerned by Argentina's head-start on enrichment methods and ballistic missile technology. President Geisel established a military nuclear energy research program that ran parallel to the civilian nuclear energy body, CNEN. By 1990, they were believed to be around two years away from testing a Hiroshima-type bomb (admittedly, a piece of shit by 90s standards). The program was terminated in 1990 by civilian President Mollo. Notably, Argentina had transitioned to democracy a few years prior, which contributed greatly to the end of its paranoia towards its neighbour. (Military regimes are prone to mirror paradoxes, in which they assume their rivals are as equally unstable and militaristic. This was definitely true of Argentina's military dictatorship in general though).

My primary case study was South Africa, whose apartheid government built six nuclear bombs beginning in the 1970s until the late 1980s. I chose it because it's the only state to have ever built and then dismantled its nuclear arsenal. At the time, the government was very concerned about the survival of its white state, since the rest of Africa was decolonizing and they were becoming a pariah on the global scene for their apartheid policies. Also, Soviet and Cuban troops were running around getting into conflicts in the continent and they were worried about getting invaded for being anti-communist and super racist. This made them desperate enough to build nuclear weapons.

They actually tried really, really hard to get security assurances from the United States, which led to them going as far as to sanction Rhodesia for being white supremacist (a hypocrisy equivalent only to Norway convincing itself that it meets climate targets). They failed to convince the US to help them (because South Africa was strategically worthless, so it was totally within the United States' comfort zone to ignore them and later condemn them) and were pretty much only friends with Israel, who helped them quite a bit with the nuclear weapons program. In one of the texts I read for the paper (page 287 of Will South Africa Survive? by R.W. Johnson), there's a translation of a section of South African Prime Minister Vorster's interview with Israeli newspaper Ma'ariv in 1976 in which he states that Israel and apartheid South Africa kind of have the same thing going on, with specific reference to their policies of occupation and racial/economic exclusion. So, if you ever need some additional evidence that Israel is an apartheid state for whatever reason, feel free to cite a literal leader of apartheid South Africa admitting that Israel does the same thing.

ANYWAYS, apartheid South Africa got rid of its nuclear weapons during two events/processes: the end of apartheid, and the fall of the Soviet Union. The cause of their disarmament doesn't require much thought since PM de Klerk admitted to parliament that they got rid of their nuclear weapons because their primary security threat (the USSR) no longer existed. Their weapons weren't even very good (could only be delivered by bombers) and their entire strategy for them was to just imply to the US that they possessed them, which would force the US to step up and protect them so South Africa wouldn't reveal they had them to the world and potentially trigger proliferation across Africa.

What I got out of all of this isn't that normative/perceptive explanations for disarmament are worthless, but rather that security concerns must be dealt with as a prerequisite to disarmament. Sweden and Canada fell under US extended deterrence and felt no need to develop weapons, while Brazil and South Africa's regional security concerns collapsed and they no longer had a reason to have nuclear weapons. Countries who are not threatened by nuclear powers or are protected by nuclear powers do not need nuclear weapons to guarantee their survival.

Taking into this account, I've altered the story of buzzsaw 2 to reflect my findings somewhat. A lot of it is the same, I've just put a bit more attention into addressing the security dilemma faced by Earth lol. More specifically, how a planet can minimize security externalities to avoid provoking aliens and how the necessity of doing so can challenge the status of imperial powers on said planet...