Given everything going down over the last few days, I’m starting to feel like America is sliding straight into an Ochlocracy.
(Ochlocracy—basically mob rule.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OchlocracyFor those who aren't political science nerds—and look, no offense intended, I don't pretend to know anything about nuclear physics, so it's perfectly normal that most people aren't experts in political theory—there's a real difference between this and a true democracy. In a democracy, the government responds to the *demos*—the political body that actually functions through established institutions and reaches conclusions based on actual arguments.
We’re seeing it now with the teacher strikes, we saw it recently with the Madonna drama, and before that with Caesar... you name it. It’s like faith in our institutions and in basic logic has just evaporated. Everything is being driven by raw emotion. The people winning the arguments are the ones who are the loudest and most aggressive, not the ones who actually have a point.
Our institutions are weak—most people don't trust them, which basically makes it impossible for them to do their jobs.
Anyone who’s unhappy with a decision can just rally a mob or find a powerful connection, and the officials will fold because they don't want to deal with a public lynching or the wrath of some big-shot politician.
At its core, society is built on economics—the whole system of how we produce, distribute, and consume stuff.
Right now, the tax share of our GDP is around 47%, though if you factor in the shadow economy, it’s realistically closer to 36%.
The shadow economy is inherently immoral; people dodge their obligations to society while still reaping all the benefits. Then you have the "white" economy—that 47% goes to the budget, but when you add in at least another 19% of business activity that relies on corruption-riddled government contracts, you end up with a situation where only about a third of reported income isn't tied back to state influence.
If you crunch all the numbers, it drops to maybe 25%.
The bottom line is that this 66% within the formal economy is all about distribution.
In a society like this, the most important thing isn't producing goods or services on a free market—it's making sure you're positioned correctly within the distribution chain.
And when institutions are weak, massive corruption sets in. It eats away at the social fabric, and the people with less power band together in groups to try and force their interests through non-institutional pressure.
Sorry for the lecture; I'm just genuinely worried about the country I love.
I remember the grand ideals we held when we were first building this nation, dreaming of creating something successful and truly democratic. We haven't hit that mark, and now it feels like we're drifting even further away from democracy itself.
Question for you guys.
Which way is America heading? Toward true democracy, toward Ochlocracy, or some other kind of social arrangement entirely?