Opus 2018-028: Forms of Government, part 5 of 5, What Next?

Where does our government go from here?  As we develop an electorate with a declining awareness of the issues, can democracy survive?  When you give the masses who don’t pay taxes the power to tax those who are more productive guess what will happen?  It is not property owners who vote for rent control. 

The standard historical answer is a growing anarchy until the masses are willing to give up their liberty to a strong man who will rule with an iron fist.  Revolution usually leads to tyranny.  This seems to be the goal of the left today.  Antifa and other terrorists are on one hand wanting to get us to give up our Second Amendment rights and on the other to give up our liberty for security.  You see it in the TSA.  You see it in the war on drugs.  Another form of this would be a military coup, but I don’t see that happening in America.

Some speculation about the future is in order. 

Cyber Government

With modern technology we could have everyone who cared vote on every issue.  Do you want to change the brand of toilet paper used in the white house?  Submit a form on Face Book and get everyone to vote on it.  If you are the only one who votes, you win.  It could be done.  It might lead to total chaos but it would be fun.

Or suppose that we developed an Artificial Intelligence (AI) that actually “worked”.  We could turn over all of our decisions to the computers and let them run things.  Of course the big problem here is the same one we have in current government:  Who programs the computer? 

Pharmatocracy

Will drug induced stupors prevail?  Science fiction is full of examples.  Entire populations are given drugs that make them pliable.  There are many variations of this out there.  Some will work with the cyber solution.  We are all happy, smiling and drooling idiots and the nanny state elites can play with us to their hearts content.  Some think we are already part way there.

Anachronistic

We could turn back the clock to any one of the previous solutions.  At the extreme would be the concern of the preppers with EOTWAWKI (end of the world as we know it) fantasies.  Civilizations could collapse followed by massive starvation and plagues until those who are still alive become hunter-gathers.  From there we could go to any level of history you want:  Warring city-states, roving bands of barbarians bringing down centers of culture, kings, constitutional monarchy. 

I doubt if I will live long enough to find out the next step.  Send me an e-mail or have a seance to let me know.

homo unius libri