Democracy is garbage
The freedom to rule your own life is far more important than being able to cast a vote to decide how we shall force everyone to live theirs.
Democracy: Mob Rule with Better PR
Democracy isn't some enlightened system of governance — it's simply mob rule dressed up in respectable language. The core mechanism remains unchanged: the majority gets to impose its will on the minority through institutionalized force. No amount of constitutional "guardrails" or procedural window-dressing changes this fundamental reality.
The "Guardrails" Myth
When Democracy Works as Intended
Democracy defenders claim that constitutions, bills of rights, and institutional checks prevent the worst outcomes of majority rule. But what happens when we look at actual democracies?
Examples of Democratic Outcomes:
- Venezuela: Democratically elected Maduro, leading to economic collapse and authoritarianism
- Bolivia: Democratically elected communist presidents implementing wealth confiscation
- Germany 1933: Democratically elected Nazi party, leading to genocide
- Zimbabwe: Democratically elected Mugabe, leading to hyperinflation and land seizures
The Pattern: In each case, the majority voted for policies that destroyed prosperity and freedom. The "guardrails" either didn't exist, were circumvented, or were modified by the very democratic process they were supposed to constrain.
The Judge Problem
Who enforces these supposed guardrails? The democratic government itself. If the majority votes to change the rules, who stops them? The courts? They're appointed by the democratic government. The military? They're controlled by the democratic government.
Example: If 51% of people vote that the other 49% should forfeit their property, and the democratically elected representatives pass this law, what mechanism prevents it? The constitution? It can be amended democratically. The supreme court? Their interpretation changes with democratic pressure.
Democracy contains no mechanism to prevent mob rule because democracy IS mob rule.
The Absurdity of "Equal Say"
The Thoughtful vs. The Mob
Consider this scenario:
- Person A: Researches policy implications, considers long-term consequences, votes for lower taxes to invest in his children's future
- Persons B & C: Think A is "greedy," vote against him based purely on emotion
A is outnumbered 2-1. His thoughtful analysis is worthless. Democracy says the mob's uninformed emotional response should override the individual's reasoned decision.
The Store Analogy
Imagine this same logic applied to commerce:
- You want white sneakers
- Two strangers in the store prefer blue
- The store owner refuses to sell you white sneakers because "majority rules"
The outrage would be immediate. The store would face customer boycotts, reputation damage, and business failure. Why? Because we instinctively recognize that strangers have no right to dictate your personal choices.
Yet somehow, when we call it "democracy," this same tyranny becomes virtuous.
The Expert Problem
In every other aspect of life, we defer to expertise:
- Medical decisions: We consult doctors, not random people
- Legal matters: We hire lawyers, not take neighborhood polls
- Food production: We rely on farmers, not popular opinion
- Engineering: We trust engineers, not democratic votes on bridge design
But when it comes to the most complex challenge of all — organizing society and economic systems — suddenly we think the average person's opinion should count equally with someone who has spent decades studying economics, history, and political theory.
The Reality: The majority of people can't successfully manage their own finances, careers, or personal relationships. Why would we want them managing everyone else's lives?
The Normal Distribution Problem
Most people, by definition, are average. That's what average means. Yet most people's life goal is to be above average — more successful, wealthier, happier than the norm.
The Democratic Contradiction: Why would we design a system where the average people (who most individuals are trying to escape being) get to dictate how the above-average people (who most individuals aspire to become) should live?
Example: If you're working 80-hour weeks to build a business and become financially independent, why should people working 40-hour weeks and living paycheck-to-paycheck get equal say in how much of your success you're allowed to keep?
Democracy as Popularity Contest
The Crude Solution
Democracy is the most primitive method of decision-making: raw numbers. No consideration of:
- Knowledge or expertise
- Stake in the outcome
- Consequences of being wrong
- Individual rights
- Minority interests
It's literally: "Count heads, impose will."
Market vs. Democracy
In markets: Businesses must satisfy customers individually or lose them. A shoe store tries to stock multiple colors because losing customers hurts profits.
In democracy: Politicians only need to satisfy 51% to impose on 100%. The minority has no recourse — they can't "shop elsewhere" for governance.
Result: Markets create win-win outcomes (voluntary exchange), while democracy creates win-lose outcomes (forced compliance).
The Fundamental Injustice
Canceling Out Individual Votes
Your carefully considered vote can be canceled by someone who:
- Didn't research the issues
- Voted based on tribal loyalty
- Wants to use government force to get what they want
- Has completely opposite values and interests
Example: A productive person votes against wealth redistribution. His vote is canceled by two people who want "free" stuff from the government. The result? The productive person is forced to subsidize people who voted to rob him.
Funding Your Enemies
Here's the real-world absurdity: Most people actively avoid living near or associating with people who make consistently bad life decisions — criminals, chronic welfare recipients, people from broken communities. Why? Because these people's choices create undesirable outcomes that everyone else recognizes.
The Democratic Perversity: These same people you wouldn't want as neighbors get to outvote you on how your money should be spent.
Example: A suburban family man works 50+ hours a week, saves for his children's education, maintains his property, and contributes to his community. He's outnumbered by:
- Single mothers who had kids they can't afford
- People who dropped out of school and remain unemployed
- Individuals with addiction problems who refuse treatment
- People who made poor financial decisions and want bailouts
The Result: His vote for fiscal responsibility gets canceled. He's forced to fund the very lifestyle choices he's spent his life avoiding. His tax dollars go to:
- Supporting families that were created irresponsibly
- Subsidizing people who refuse to work
- Enabling destructive behaviors he teaches his children to avoid
- Bailing out people who made decisions he would never make
The Charity vs. Coercion Distinction
If this family man wanted to help struggling people, he could choose which causes align with his values. He might donate to:
- Organizations that require recipients to seek employment
- Programs that promote marriage and stable families
- Charities focused on personal responsibility and rehabilitation
But democracy eliminates choice. He's forced to fund programs that directly contradict his values and support behaviors he finds destructive.
Zero Optionality
Unlike any other system, democracy gives you exactly what you voted against.
In the market: If 51% of people want Product X and 49% want Product Y, both products get made. Everyone gets what they want.
In democracy: If 51% vote for Policy X and 49% vote against it, everyone gets Policy X — including the 49% who opposed it.
Back to the Store Analogy: Imagine you go to buy white sneakers, but other customers vote that you should get blue ones instead. You're forced to take the blue shoes and pay for them. You can't shop elsewhere, you can't refuse the purchase, and you can't get your money back.
That's democracy: You get what you explicitly voted against, you're forced to pay for it, and you have no recourse.
The Ultimate Insanity: You're not just getting something you don't want — you're funding people whose life philosophies are diametrically opposed to yours, whose decisions you've spent your life avoiding, and whose outcomes you would never choose for yourself or your family.
The Core Question
What moral principle justifies allowing strangers to dictate:
- How much of your income you can keep?
- What you can put in your body?
- How you can use your property?
- What voluntary exchanges you're allowed to make?
Simply because they outnumber you?
There is no such principle. Democracy is simply institutionalized aggression — the mob using the state to impose its will on individuals who never consented to be ruled.
Conclusion
Democracy isn't the "least bad" system — it's simply socialism by committee. Instead of one dictator, you have millions of would-be dictators voting on how to control everyone else's life.
The only legitimate "vote" is the one you make with your own life, property, and voluntary associations. Everything else is just a sophisticated form of mob rule.
True freedom means you get to decide how to live your life — not your neighbors, not the majority, and certainly not strangers who vote to use government force against you simply because they outnumber you.