What does democracy really mean? What are its flaws? And what might it take to move beyond democracy and toward freedom? Introduction - 0:00 Defining Democracy - 1:48 "Real Democracy" - 8:30 What's Wrong With Democracy? - 15:51 Enter: Anarchy - 30:44 Support me on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/saintdrew = Check out my website! https://www.andrewsage.org = outro music: Cedar Womb by joe zempel YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCuMhK75-tYDMV_7nEExFmg Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3vVDncwsr2d6svvsH8WVYO = Sources & Resources: From Democracy to Freedom by Crimethinc - https://crimethinc.com/2016/04/29/feature-from-democracy-to-freedom On Democracy by Robert Dahl - https://newuniversityinexileconsortium.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Robert-A.-Dahl-On-Democracy-1998-1.pdf Anarchy After Leftism by Bob Black - https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/bob-black-anarchy-after-leftism Remaking Society by Murray Bookchin Fragments of An Anarchist Anthropology by David Graeber - https://www.eleuthera.it/files/materiali/David_Graeber_Fragments_%20Anarchist_Anthropology.pdf There Never Was a West Or, Democracy Emerges From the Spaces In Between by David Graeber Anarchism, Marxism and the Future of the Left by Murray Bookchin Anarchists Against Democracy by Various - https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/various-authors-anarchists-against-democracy The Soul of Man under Socialism by Oscar Wilde - https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/wilde-oscar/soul-man/ Statism and Anarchy by Mikhail Bakunin - https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/mikhail-bakunin-statism-and-anarchy Revenge of the Return of Anarchy and Democracy (Revisited) by Shawn P. Wilbur Anarchy Alive! by Uri Gordon Debunking Democracy by Bob Black A Day in the Life of a Socialist Citizen by Michael Walzer, found in Obligations: Essays on Disobedience, War, and Citizenship by Michael Walzer https://www.britannica.com/topic/Council-of-Five-Hundred-ancient-Greek-council We Don’t Agree On Capitalism by Frank Miroslav - https://wedontagree.net/essays/we-dont-agree-on-capitalism-essay/ Nightmares of Reason by Bob Black Why Democracy Is Not Compatible With Anarchism by Lazar M - https://www.reddit.com/r/DebateAnarchism/comments/1pz3tok/i_felt_inspired_today_and_decided_to_try_to_write/ A New Glossary by Shawn P. Wilbur - https://www.libertarian-labyrinth.org/glossary/a-new-glossary The Abolition Of Rulership Or The Rule Of All Over All? By William Gillis - https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/william-gillis-the-abolition-of-rulership-or-the-rule-of-all-over-all The Difference by Scott E Page C4SS Mutual Exchange Symposium: Anarchy and Democracy - https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/center-for-a-stateless-society-anarchy-and-democracy
The Dispersion of Power: A Critical Realist Theory of Democracy
Abstract The Dispersion of Power is an urgent call to rethink centuries of conventional wisdom about what democracy is, why it matters, and how to make it better. Drawing from history, social science, psychology, and critical theory, it explains why elections do not and cannot realize the classic ideal of popular rule, and why prevailing strategies of democratic reform often make things worse. Instead, Bagg argues, we should see democracy as a way of protecting public power from capture—an alternative vision that is at once more realistic and more inspiring. Despite their many shortcomings, real-world elections do prevent the most extreme forms of tyranny, and are therefore indispensable. In dealing with the vast inequalities that remain, however, we cannot rely on standard solutions such as electoral reform, direct democracy, deliberation, and participatory governance. Instead, Bagg shows, protecting and enriching democracy requires addressing underlying inequalities of power directly. In part, this entails substantive policies attacking the advantages of wealthy elites. Even more crucially, deepening democracy requires the organization of oppositional, countervailing power among ordinary people. Neither task is easy, but historical precedents exist in both cases—and if democracy is to survive contemporary crises, leaders and citizens alike must find ways to revive and reinvent these essential democratic practices for the twenty-first century.
Democracy as a Scaled Collective Intelligence Process: Points of Vulnerability and Augmentation
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Democracy and the Epistemic Commons
The Consilience Project is a publication of the Civilization Research Institute (CRI)
Social Media Vs Democracy
Governable Spaces: Democratic Design for Online Life – Writings and rehearsals by Nathan Schneider
Read the free, open access editionBuy: Amazon, Bookshop, Narrow Gauge Book Co-op, UC Press
Democracy and the Epistemic Commons - The Consilience Project
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Hold the Line: A Guide to Defending Democracy
A practical guide for organizers, communities, and individuals defending democracy.
The Ancient Invention That Solves Corruption
The Global State of Democracy 2026: Democracy in an Age of Conflict
In the face of increasing political and societal fragmentation, the Global State of Democracy 2026 explains the patterns that define the direction of democratization around the world. Drawing on the latest data from the Global State of Democracy Indices, the report documents both democratic stagnation and key declines in indicators that measure the credibility of elections, the effectiveness of legislatures, respect for freedoms of expression and the press, and access to justice. These phenomena affect countries across thespectrum of democratic performance.
The Global State of Democracy 2026: Democracy in an Age of Conflict
In the face of increasing political and societal fragmentation, the Global State of Democracy 2026 explains the patterns that define the direction of democratization around the world. Drawing on the latest data from the Global State of Democracy Indices, the report documents both democratic stagnation and key declines in indicators that measure the credibility of elections, the effectiveness of legislatures, respect for freedoms of expression and the press, and access to justice. These phenomena affect countries across thespectrum of democratic performance.
Scoping report: Future challenges to democracy | CoP CC on Participatory and Deliberative Democracy
The report from the European Commission identifies 10 key challenges and emerging trends impacting European democratic systems and suggests future policy options. These challenges are structured across three interconnected levels: citizens and societal dynamics, the information and knowledge environment, and institutions and the democratic system. This framework aims to provide a comprehensive and integrated view of democracy as a connected ecosystem, emphasising how challenges in one area can affect the entire system.
Can Anarchy Protect Us From Bad People?
Conclave Democracy
What divine authority can teach us about democratic principles.
Jeremy Gilbert on Twitter / X
Really useful analysis of NR / neo-monarchism/ long-termism as authoritarian responses to the perception that democracy just can't get anything done (cos it's locked in to the short-termism of the popularity / electoral cycle). Free to read here: https://t.co/U4z0qmBReM https://t.co/NG4XIUM6O8— Jeremy Gilbert (@jemgilbert) September 21, 2026
Democracy is an epistemic discipline, it only works if truth can constrain power. Without a faster, more transparent architecture for shared reality, the arc of democracy bends away from substance, through simulation, and toward authoritarianism. Without major action, it's the inevitable end state.
How will democracy work in the 21st century?
Exploring and understanding how democracy is and must evolve to support self governance and open societies into the future
The Free Expression Evaluation
How a permanent Citizens' Assembly in Paris passed a bill into law
Another Democratic Future | Substack
What Happens When You Have a Choice? : A Breakdown of The People's Assembly and Blacksky's Vision for Democratic Tooling
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