A dictatorship of the majority is not a democracy and neither is the dictatorship of the minority
(Update: September 12, 2023: Just became aware of this book that goes into depth on the tyranny of minority rule and the danger to US democracy....with suggestions what to do about it. Tyranny of the Minority: Why American Democracy Reached the Breaking Point by
In Israel, Netanyahu is succeeding in establishing a dictatorship of the majority, and in the US, Donald Trump is proposing a dictatorship of the minority. Both approaches destroy democracy as we have known it because they trample the rights of the opposition and lead to oppression and corruption, causing a government to serve and favor only the loyal to the leader and his allies. It spawns even more power over others because those seeking power and favors also have to pledge loyalty, as well.
Watching the events in Israel, and Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu's consolidation of power in the hands of himself and religious conservatives, is a laboratory of how democracies can become dictatorships. Criticized by many outside of Israel and nearly half of the country that by destroying any guardrails of the judiciary, Netanyahu counters he is saving democracy. It may be that the conservative religious majority is representative of a majority, but not an overwhelming one given the size of the vocal demonstrations and strikes. Where Netanyahoo misses the point is that the large size of the opposition should have rights, too. To do otherwise is not democracy. It is a dictatorship of a majority who, if power-mad, can now suppress and oppress those who are secular or liberal, giving them no chance to have the power and ability to lead their lives as they wish. This is a formula for future conflict and instability in Israel to the dismay of those who had hoped Israel would be an example of an American-style democracy. for the rest of the middle east to follow. Instead, Netanyahu and his party are trying to emulate Iran, but in a very almost evenly divided nation, with a large minority who object to being forced to live as ultra-conservatives and the unrest among the targeted remaining Palestinians, resulting in even more violence. Netanyahu has more going for him because he is trying to establish a dictatorship of an existing majority and there is no constitution to protect the rule of law or even to determine what the law should be.
Former President Donald Trump admires so many of the world's undemocratic dictatorial leaders. He proposes to establish the dictatorship of a minority if he ever got his hands on the executive branch of government himself. https://www.salon.com/2023/07/17/authoritarianism-will-be-on-the-ballot-experts-worried-over-alarming-2025-plot/ His MAGA followers represent somewhere around 30% of hardcore. He promises retribution and revenge and his tools are fear and purge of the executive branch of those not loyal to him. Fear of his revenge has already cowed the members of his party and those even running against him in the current primary races for the GOP nomination. He has made that no secret and has made it clear that is what he would do if re-elected. That, too, is not democracy. In the US, the attempt of a minority of hard-core right wing to control the majority is reflected in the MAGA movement and led by Donald Trump who is bent on upending the democracy as we know it by making it clear he will refuse to obey laws the restrict his agenda, in a second term,to purge those in the government of those not loyal to him, and use law enforcement to bee his tool of fear and retribution to keep the opposition in line. He proposes to eliminate civil service protections that have shielded the bureaucracy from political pressure and corruption. That means that services, rules, and regulations, and administering power would be powerful tools used to favor the public, business, consumers, and those in Congress that are likewise loyal. The hammer of his abusive powers would be his promised use of the Department of Justice to carry out his political revenge and retribution against those who wronged him in the past. That is the classic definition of fascism. Trump Plans to Expand Presidential Power Over Agencies in 2025 - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
One of the signature elements of an American democracy written into the Constitution was the Bill of Rights and over the years was extended to women and freed slaves. Top of the list is voting rights, and protection of those with minority views to have access to freedoms giving them a chance someday to become a majority. We call those civil rights; others may refer to them as human rights. The reason the Constitution came into being at all was to find a way to keep a person from becoming a tyrant or a king and it was done by splitting up government al powers into three power centers, judicial, legislative, and executive, and giving each a check on the other. Both Trump and Netanyahu have realized that the greatest barrier to their achieving the power they seek is the judiciary branch. It was the judiciary that stood in the way of Trump's overturning the 2020 election and it is the judiciary that Netanyahu has defanged that sparked the demonstrations and outrage. The right-wingers would like nothing more than to have all of the powers in the hands of the executive in a unitary form of government.
Per a recent poll, Trump's devoted followers are around 28 to 30 percent of Republican and leaning Republican voters. 230032-nbc-january-2023-poll-v2-129-release.pdf (documentcloud.org)
Today, Trump is preferred by a a little over 50 percent of GOP voters over the rest of the announced primary field,National : President: Republican primary : 2024 Polls | FiveThirtyEight
https://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2023/07/trumps-second-term-plans-to-establish.html
No comments:
Post a Comment