We need to stop making the irrational and unfounded, anti-empirical assumption that the corporate and financial elite are stupid – they are demonstrably sociopathic, but they are not stupid, as a class – and it would be stupid of them to not cooperate and coordinate, orchestrate, plan and carry out
Continue readingTag: democracy
Writings of J. Todd Ring: Abolish The Monarchy?
Abolish the monarchy? A better idea, since it is actually achievable within the relatively near term, is to create a new British constitution, which clearly enshrines – and re-asserts – human rights and freedoms, while precisely detailing the powers and strict limits of political or governmental powers, as well as
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Yo, Podcasters! Read This.
An excellent, important video was the inspiration for this short post (linked here, below) from a generally lackluster podcast. The musings arising after watching the video, however, I would say are even more important. The podcast host asked for video ideas at the end of his presentation. Here is my
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Poland comes in from the cold
It’s all up and down with democracy these days as right-wing populists, some bordering on fascism, come and go. The most prominent case, of course, was our great neighbour to the south electing Donald Trump and then trading him in for one of the best and most progressive presidents in
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: What Is The Populist Right?
Neoliberals, “progressives”, and the neo-Maoist faux-Left, of which, neoliberals and so-called progressives form the core part, rabidly slander, dehumanize and demonize the populist right. But what, in reality, in truth, is the populist right, what are their core shared values as a political movement, who are they, and how can
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Strategies For A Creating A Better World For All: Crisis & Opportunity
Who rules the world? Two empires, which are in reality, two crime syndicates, the biggest in history, now dominate, and effectively rule over most nations on Earth: the corporate-fascist empire, which is the oligarchy that is based in North America, Britain and Europe, centred in Davos, at the World Economic
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: The Big Picture: Markers Of The Global Tectonic Shift, Now Underway
Or, The Big Picture: Economic Strength vs Economic Insolvency: US, Canada and Uruguay compared Uruguayan national debt in 2023:$40 billion USD(52% of GDP) Canadian national debt in 2023:$1.4 trillion USDOr$1,400 billion USD US national debt in 2023:Roughly $30 trillionOr$30,000 billion(Not including corporate and household debt, which brings the total to
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Greenwash & Eco-Fascism
Climate change is real, but the WEF billionaire-run, corporate-fascist oligarchy is not the saviour of humanity or the Earth – they are the principle devourers of both. We need to be perfectly clear on that. We do need a Green New Deal, but one that promotes, defends and strengthens freedom,
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Uniting The People – Yes, it’s happening
Jimmy Dore, from the populist left, and Tucker Carlson, from the grassroots centre-right, can not only have a conversation, but a respectful one – and furthermore, they are allies and friends. This is exactly what we need. As I said, in the title of my second book, it is now
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Elon Musk, Alex Jones, X – and Freedom
Twitter / X and Elon Musk have reaffirmed their upholding of the inalienable human right to freedom of speech. This is extremely important, and extremely good. “I’m generally against evil propaganda machines. They can go to hell.” Freedom is fundamental. That includes freedom of speech. Because if we lose freedom
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Further Reflections On Nationalism
I would emphasize there are better and worse forms of nationalism, but stress that nationalist political-economic policies can be highly beneficial for the people, as opposed to neoliberalism, globalism or neoconservatism, so long as they are combined with robust democracy, human rights and freedom, and a spirit of friendliness and
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Swedes take on Tesla
The world’s richest man is not amused. Elon Musk, CEO and biggest shareholder of automaker Tesla, is annoyed at a series of strikes against his company. He calls them “insane.” He has simply encountered a culture which takes workplace democracy seriously. When Tesla set up in Sweden, Musk attempted to
Continue readingIN-SIGHTS: Bonhoeffer on stupidity
Much has been written about Bonhoeffer and many English translations of his works are available. One that caught my eye was on stupidity. It seems appropriate to review with a vile man likely to be the Republican candidate for President of the USA. If Trump wins, it may be the
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: C-58, a victory for workplace democracy
People have fought for rights in their workplaces as long as there have been workplaces. The first labour strike in recorded history took place in Egypt in the reign of Ramesses III (1184-1153 BC) when tomb-builders at a site in Western Thebes, frustrated at delays in receiving their wages, laid
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: BLOWBACK – And Collapse
JFK, MLK, The CIA – And The Collapse Of The West Yes, the evidence is clear: the CIA killed JFK, RFK, MLK, and Malcolm X. They are the goons of the corporate-state oligarchy. What did you think they do? Defend freedom and democracy? Were you born yesterday? (Read, Killing Hope,
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: The Collapse Of The West: Chapter One: The Global Tectonic Shift
By J. Todd Ring Preface: I wrote this essay in January of 2020, then the covid crisis hit, and it was shelved for over a year. The macro-scale patterns have not changed fundamentally since then, although the slow-motion collapse of the US, and the West more broadly, has accelerated. I
Continue readingIN-SIGHTS: Constructive anarchism
Yale political scientist and anthropologist James C. Scott, author of the whimsical 2013 book Two Cheers for Anarchism, suggested pursuit of justice demands occasional insubordination and disregard for rules. He described “…an anarchist sensibility that celebrates the local knowledge, common sense, and creativity of ordinary people. The result is a
Continue readingA Puff of Absurdity: Politicization of Masks
If political leaders on the left feel like they can’t talk about the importance of N95s to prevent viruses, then points go to the far right, who started this anti-mask rhetoric. I asked, “What’s the NDP’s position on bringing back masks in schools, healthcare facilities, and public transportation during this
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: A loss for illiberalism, a gain for democracy
Generations of Communism is not the best training for democracy. So perhaps we shouldn’t have expected that when the Soviet Union collapsed under its own dead weight, the countries that emerged would quickly become functioning democracies. Actually some have done very well, others not so much. Russia and Belarus, riddled
Continue readingTHE FIFTH COLUMN: What If We Had A Different Non-Political Form of Representative Government
I have been thinking about what a non-political from of representative government might look like and whether it could be considered democratic or not. One model came to mind, a Council One Hundred that would set policy, provide Cabinet Ministers and oversee the government administration. With 50 peoples representatives chosen
Continue reading