by Stripped to its essence, the Brazilian presidential elections represent a direct clash between democracy and an early 21stCentury neofascism, indeed between civilization and barbarism, writes Pepe Escobar. I would say that the future of Western democracy is being played out in the US and UK, and it doens't look like a bright one.On the other hand, the West has never been democratic in the sense of rule of, by and for the people. All Western nations have been either monarchical or oligarchic. Democracy has yet to be tried.Western nations are constitutional republics that are only "democratic" in the sense that peridoically the people get to elect which faction of the elite they prefer to be ruled by, with no guarantee that the ruling party will follow its electoral platform or
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Mike Norman considers the following as important: Brazil
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Stripped to its essence, the Brazilian presidential elections represent a direct clash between democracy and an early 21stCentury neofascism, indeed between civilization and barbarism, writes Pepe Escobar.I would say that the future of Western democracy is being played out in the US and UK, and it doens't look like a bright one.
On the other hand, the West has never been democratic in the sense of rule of, by and for the people. All Western nations have been either monarchical or oligarchic. Democracy has yet to be tried.
Western nations are constitutional republics that are only "democratic" in the sense that peridoically the people get to elect which faction of the elite they prefer to be ruled by, with no guarantee that the ruling party will follow its electoral platform or representations and there is no redress other than coming elections, which are simply a repeat of the process. Calling this "democracy" is a sham.
Interesting tidbit: "It’s no secret that Steve Bannon is advising the Bolsonaro campaign in Brazil. One of Bolsonaro’s sons, Eduardo, met with Bannon in New York two months ago after which the Bolsonaro camp decided to profit from Bannon’s supposed “peerless” social engineering insights."
Consortium News
Future of Western Democracy Being Played Out in Brazil