Tfw Princeton study shows only the richest 1% have any influence over policy change and the majority of Americans vote or perspective changes nothing. Yikes
@Jumbo Jango McCarthyism is a blight that still persists to this day, most Americans don't even know what communism or Socialism are, and call liberals who call for mild reform "radical leftists"
So wacky and hilarious that "small government" always means "cut social services" and not "limit the president's ability to hire his friends"! Thanks so much for making videos that ask us to think outside the box, RC, it's somehow still shocking to this often underinformed, privileged American how undemocratic our "democracy" is
Or "we shouldn't regulate food safety or pollution or working conditions" but "we should regulate people's reproductive freedoms and ability to organize". "We shouldn't spend money on education or infrastructure or investigations into white-collar crime, wage theft, and police brutality" but "we should spend money on imposing violent imperial authority abroad and to militarize an uncontrollable and unaccountable law enforcement and carceral apparatus."
Hamilton the musical was just telling and framing a story that's been told with music to make it more exciting and approachable. I don't think it was deep diving. It's like a kid in a play excited about Lincoln. It's hard to learn anything more objective about past leadership. Hamilton didn't do anything school wasn't already doing. And let's face it, leadership is often viewed as a position for scoundrels and sociopaths that can push their ambition by any means necessary, but we rarely point out how narcissistic and against the common citizen those people would be. A nice president wouldn't be fathomable to most.
@@mcwjes Hamilton is about lin manuel miranda kinning a slave owner and then writing the musical equivalent of a self insert fanfiction about it Its cringe
As a foreigner, the US constantly baffles me with new ways how it doesn't work like a "developed" country. It wouldn't be a problem if it wasn't the wealthiest and most influential country
@@squidcultist0022 mistaken humans with no soul who are blinded are destroying our planet, along with the propaganda and lies that sweep the bottom of the filter of humanity in order to create misconception, miscommunication, and error.
This video reminds me a lot of an Edward Abby quote: Anarchism is not a romantic fable but the hardheaded realization, based on five thousand years of experience, that we cannot entrust the management of our lives to kings, priests, politicians, generals, and county commissioners.
@@uncannyvalley2350 Hi Uncanny Valley. Spamming my comments section with a copied/pasted essay with links is not OK. Every last one of the dozen spammed identical comment was deleted in my dashboard, unseen and unread even by myself. Don't do that.
Indeed. Everything that happened after our revolution that didn't fulfill its ideals is the fable we're told. Revisionist history selectively omits whatever doesn't fit into the narrative that those with great wealth and political power want to tell and the citizenry to think about. When a revolution succeeds the only way they can ultimately hold on to their wealth and power is to pull wool over the eyes of the electorate. This describes the entirety of American history.
"Originalists" treat the Constitution not as text but as a pretext. Those who question the constitutionality of abortion but not the Air Force, of Obamacare but not illicit presidential pardons, are intellectually dishonest - often with themselves. I'm certainly not saying that a strict interpretation of the Constitution is the best position to take in the 21st century, but it would be a consistent and legitimate point of view, if only we found anyone who actually and consistently held that point of view. So it's valuable to poke holes in the fundamental dishonesty of those who claim to hold that point of view, denying them the opportunity to wrap themselves in the flag.
"We're not a democracy, we're a republic!" Yep, just got this line fed to me by someone defending the electoral college. Like...yes, that's my problem with it!
It's also worthwhile to point out that "republic" is a very broad term that describes pretty much any country that isn't a hereditary monarchy/aristocracy or a theocracy. Moreover, an actual democracy would also be a type of republic. Therefore, it must be specified what species of republic it is. In the case of the US (and all liberal-capitalist countries), it is a *plutocratic* republic, so we could also just call it a plutocracy.
Problem is, the people who could do it, e.g. the politicians, are the same people who have every incentive to keep it this way and even make it less democratic
5:08 I've been warning my Singaporean relatives about this becoming their new problem and they keep telling me, "Well, it's not so bad as long as they keep the country rich and they do a good job of governing." Excuse me while I bang my head against the wall.
Yep, this is 100% true. The way the opposition won more votes but still only managed to get in 10 MPs into parliament is ridiculous. The "father" of the country narrative taught in schools here in Singapore is also disturbing to say the least.
@@CiceroSpeaketh so now, who was this guy, lee kuan yew or something like that? I remember hearing him once on an interview. He said "freedom is overrated. People don't deserve freedom. If you give people freedom, they abuse it. They act irresponsibly"...
After following the last couple of Presidencies, it boggles my mind how people like Trump, Obama, Bush, etc. get to choose the secretary of and direct operations of the HHS, despite having ZERO experience in healthcare and medicine. Which is why I think the Presidency should be split into 15 individual heads of the current cabinet positions with democratically elected specialists for each position. It's good to see in this video that this idea has been implemented successfully in countries like Switzerland.
Trump's Head of HUD was Ben Carson. A neurosurgeon... And what made the Annoying Orange think that he would know anything about Housing and Urban Development?
Ha! The veneration of the founding fathers we see on a constant basis is pretty ridiculous in. 2020. This video furthers my suspicion that I don’t agree with their values at all. There is nothing about them that makes them infallible.
I comment an inflammatory paragraph wherever it could be relevant about how the founding fathers were useless capitalist parasites because they couldn't even apply their own basic espoused philosophy to their own lives, and were so scared of hard work that they all had slaves. George Washington moved several times to intentionally abuse a loophole and not free his slaves who had a legal and moral right to freedom. If there is a Hell, the founding fathers are assuredly roasting there for all eternity.
The American "revolution" was a revolution in that it replaced one group of white, male, aristocratic elites with another group of white, male, aristocratic elites.
@@swagmundfreud666 Who subsequently experimented with a written constitution involving a finely-tuned series of compromises to make a continental, federal republic work. So no, it was revolutionary in more than just a change in management.
In all this election drama, we never really stop to consider: Is putting all this power in the hands of ONE DUDE -really- the best way to run a society??
@@squidcultist0022 Monarchy and its forms have been the norm throughout history, golden ages are brought by them, and downfall is because of their ineptitude, so humanity simply show it can't progress beyond monarchy.
@Kašpar Johan late Roman empire economy was based on exploitation of slaves which halted development and they didn't properly use the different parts of the empire for their economy. Also disease and bad harvests due to climate change contributed to the weakening of the empire. Ultimately yes the empire was its biggest enemy as corruption and warlords divided the empire in the later period.
12:05 This is what brought us to cults like trumpism. People attaching their SENSE OF SELF to one man. In a very unhealthy form of codependency, their very identities have been willingly given over and melded to a charismatic narcissist.
thank you for pointing out the codependency. also, the people who know that trump is a mess but still support him are enablers . this country is a gigantic dysfunctional family in which he fills a role of president/king/patriarch/bad dad. i’ve already survived my own home’s family dysfunction and have to deal with this crap on a national scale.
@@octopusmime he’s not even fatherly or powerful in personality though, he’s merely an obscene fat perverted master to project your hopes and fears on.
My outsider view is that the US suffers from "early adopter syndrome" in that it is stuck with a constitutional framework that sounded like a good idea at the time without many examples. Other nations gained experience and didn't make the same mistakes as the US.
The office of the President as chief executive was established by members of the wealthy aristocracy, a select few, that a single individual from among their own ranks be permitted to serve their interests. Donald John Trump is *_not_* unique, because he is part of the modern-day aristocracy, a company CEO whose own family wields significantly huge portions of the US's $$$ - him becoming POTUS was the same as TJ and GW being elected to the presidency.
That's going to be really awkward when a poor mail worker in Alaska gets possessed by the presidential powers of all the depowered presidents and goes on an executive rampage in northern Canada only for Iron man to rehabilitate him and have him lead a Canadian Superhero team.
@@kingofAwsomness as a Canadian I got really angry when Bendis just wiped out Alpha Flight for no good reason. I got even angrier when Tony Stark swoops in and gives their murderer the responsibility of leading their replacement team. Alpha Flight is a part of the Canadian government in the comics, for context.
Proposition: Divide the Presidency into 4 separate positions: The Attorney General, Treasurer, Secretary of State, and Commander in Chief. Each position rotates an election each year in a 4-year cycle. Hence, you have a national election every year to increase demoracy. Also, give the AG pardon power and SoS veto power. All positions are subject to impeachment.
@plentyness As we know, everyone has a rocky start of their presidency but learn to handle power. It's why Trump is doing so well! /s In all seriousness, people in the system proposed by Tom would likely run for a position they have more experience with (soldiers for commander, lawyers for AG), because there wouldn't be the same glory and prestige that the "president" has, and the cycling of executive powers a la the Senate is a pretty interesting idea.
@plentyness the house of representatives currently serve two-year terms so as to clue themselves into voters more than a longer term like a senator. would adding a year alleviate that problem?
@plentyness What do you mean by this? He said 1 changes each year on a 4 year cycle not all changes every year. Furthermore each job is essentially 1/4 of the current president position so they should be about 1/4 as hard to learn meaning even if they changed each year they should learn about as much about their jobs in 1 year as the president does about their position does in 4.
Following the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, many states copied the single chief executive but seeing the corrupting power of all that authority in a single office decided to have other executive officers elected such as Secretary of State, Attorney General and Treasurer. Some even took away the power of pardons from the Governor and put it in a Board of Pardons that consists of the Governor and those other elected executive officers.
I have to admit: I was never as gratefull to live in switzerland as now, while watching this US election... Also: Those seven Bobbleheads are a WONDERFULL tool in diplomacy... "Sure, we send you our Head of State to negotiate..." and if the first one fails, well, we have six more of them :-P
democracy is majority rule, anarchy is no rulers. that being said, i think majority decision making would prove quite useful within an anarchy. but a vote is never a replacement for consent.
@@SirArthurTheGreat anarcho-communism (which was coined specifically to be differentiate itself from "plain" anarchism) envision such a society. but it's democracy in the sense of majority decision making within organisations, not majority rule. every genuine anarchist (including anarcho-communists) opposes systematic coercion. oppressing minorities is not compatible with anarchism. but it's the core of state democracy.
@@sofia.eris.bauhaus Democracy is NOT majority rule. That's a distortion of the term largely resulting from the American project, and the misapplication of the term by de Tocqueville. Democracy is rule of the people, and when everybody rules together, then no individual or group is a ruler, so the ideas are actually very similar in meaning. Anarchism is an idealistic project, due to the fact that after centuries of social conditioning of class society, the cultural transformation will take much longer than the political change of power, necessitating that when the previously "ruled" become the ruling class, measures and institutions will necessarily have to be employed to prevent the previous ruling class from reasserting their power. Communism is the theory of striving for a truly anarchic/democratic society that actually takes this historical-social reality into account in developing strategies for the transitions, both revolutionary and evolutionary, necessary to bring about human liberation through such a society.
Rufus Sewall played Alexander Hamilton in the John Adams miniseries, then he played a nazi in The Man in the High Castle. It's easy to imagine the latter performance was informed by the former.
Through the people, the current problems only persist because most people allow it to for one or more reasons. Or are convinced they have no say when they greatly out number the higher ups a million to one. When you think about it. The power of the few only really comes from the many. If the majority isn't going to take it anymore, that power fades away real fast. As most if not everyone is done listening to them at that point. It's not like these people have super powers or are chosen by gods. At the end of the day they are just as mortal as everyone else.
@@ADHR26 that is an extremely centrist and status quo position. While I disagree, I would like to discuss why you think this is the best option. Would it not just, in essence, be a continuous blind hope to keep putting power in the hands of a system and power structure that always has and always will overstep it’s rule to the detriment of all those who voted them in? The way I’m thinking about it, it seems like we’re already doing that, and that hasn’t gotten us in a good place (as evidenced by all the history talked about in the video).
@@ADHR26 the issue is that if you are placing your trust in someone who has the means and capability to fund and become a president, you have already conceded that there will be no fundamental change...why would a person who has benefited from the system look to change it?
I'm taking a political science class right now about American Presidency and this video sheds some light on he current hellscape of modern presidency in USA. Keep up the great work! Love this channal!
This is pretty darn timely this morning. We are doing to do battle now but the power of the office is too great. I’m afraid we’ll lose. Democracy will lose.
They couldn't get it to work with 13 states. I'd imagine it would be a tad more difficult with 50. Post-WWII Europe might have looked differently had one of the major Allied powers needed to get 48 different militias on the same page.
@@foxymetroid Why would you assume the other 37 states would have come into existence in such an alternate history? Certainly, one of the key reasons for seeking independence from Britain was to continue the genocidal westward expansion, but under a wholly different political model, the specifics would undoubtedly have played out entirely differently. There might still be only 13 states, but with territorial exclaves reaching across the continent. Or there might have been successful revolutions of small farmers and proletarians, and they might have overturned the expansionist aims of the wealthy planters and merchants.
I do prefer my country's approach to the office of president: Meaning that while we have a president, he/she is strictly a figurehead with no real political power. But he/she does have the ability to steer the country in the right direction and to unify the people in times of difficulty - simply because the office is, by design, above party politics. Sorta like what the Queen is/should be for the UK. Minus all the sex-scandals and the tax-funded luxury lifestyle, that is... :)
Hi! Actually the Swiss systems has even more interesting traits. We can vote on most big desicions directly, like if they want to buy new fighter jets for the military or if they want to give fathers leave after the birth of a child (those are two examples from the last vote). In addition Swiss people can start initiatives and if they collect enough signatures our government HAS to put them to a popular vote. This actually happens quite a lot. On the other hand we also got some laws which are ‚the will of the people‘ but very xenophobic. For example you can no longer build minaretts in Switzerland, because the Swiss Peoples Party was successful in pushing through an initiative an popular vote. I would love to see a video on those topics and how if you give the people direct democracy this can be corrupted and misused. Thanks for the immensely interesting video!
Thanks for the shoutout to Austria 😁. Our president is truly just a figurehead, but that's how we like it. I had no idea just how far the US president's powers truly reach, so this video was very enlightening. Great job 👍
As appealing as this sounds, it's never going to happen. It would take a massive movement, and getting the majority of Americans to agree on anything is like trying to herd chickens with their heads cut off.
Another excellent video and outlines a similar argument that I had the other day where I made a similar point: that the president is effectively an elected king. You guys badly need some fundamental reforms. Or revolution. That works too
Hi Leon, I've been following your work for years, even back during the dark C*****L A*****E days. This is by far your best work yet. I am completely floored and in tears (that last part is not hyperbole- this election has been an emotional experience).
I know for me that when I say the United States is a republic not a democracy it isn’t to say that their complaints are invalid, it’s to say that what you’re asking for in the first place wasn’t in the design. So when people say oh the United States shouldn’t be like this because that’s not how a democracy should act to me that is already a faulty statement. So what I would do is instead of arguing that we should do a certain act because that’s how our democracy would work I would argue that we would do a certain act because that’s how the republic works
Thanks for this. I’d never really thought about all the things we’ve been letting the president get away with. We can’t delude ourselves into thinking we’re free as long as we let one man have so much power.
I have to ask why even keep the constitution. America holds it at such a high regard in the mythologized America yet it is clear that these are problems in it that no one questions or when it is, it's interpreted with those ideas in mind so as expand the definitions of what is in it. If there are problems in your country, then you should not be following the guidelines what created your country but change or remove those problems and be honest about your own countries failures. I'm from South Africa, and we did change but are still feeling the fallout of the apartheid, yet our government has been questionable when coming to those issues. It's nice to hear from a anarchist communist, keep up the good work.
God dammit I LOVE THIS CHANNEL. You’re videos are such a fantastic resource to do many people looking for information, and honest discussion. Cited sources, and wonderful editing.
Great Video, definitely going to keep this bookmarked for future reference. Really appreciate the lack of pessimism and cynicism, and for all the useful information that society will hopefully use to improve the future. It may take a couple life-times, but I have hope for humanity.
President is more powerful than I thought. Didn’t think about the Congress problem until now. 66 people in a hugely important position have less determination on the state than the head of the regime? Outrageous.
Gotta love all the examples of people organizing in decentralized local communities going well and still hearing people ask "well how will anarchism work?"
You can only have a Democracy if you have a politically educated ,or at least educated, voting body. I find it strange this criteria of education is never mentioned in a definition of democracy, without education people turn to demagogues, the education split leads to different classes with different interests, and people kind of just don't know how to vote if they don't know all the positions they can vote for, not just members of congress and Presidents. But political nihilism in a culture can be as bad as institutional laws against voting, the new illiteracy isn't preventing books from getting in poeple's hands, its taking away their desire to read
We need voting representative of _people_ not _land_ and we need an end to rule by political minority- #ALLconservatives and their #conservativeprivilege
This was a really good and informative video! I did notice one misleading use of numbers though, with regard to vetos. You pointed out how few vetos are overturned, but I think it's significant that the president is fully aware of how many votes the original bill recieved. They can (and do) hold back on issuing vetos they know they won't win, so their success rate would be expected to be skewed high to some degree. Not that the whole thing isn't a problem, but based just on these numbers we don't know how many times the president would have vetoed something but knew they didn't have the votes.
"It's a republic, not a democracy!"
"Yeah, that's the problem."
Thank you for saying what I keep screaming at my laptop these last few weeks.
Gotta love that false sense of democracy.
Welcome to america! Your votes are suggestions and your money isn't yours.
Tfw Princeton study shows only the richest 1% have any influence over policy change and the majority of Americans vote or perspective changes nothing. Yikes
@Jumbo Jango McCarthyism is a blight that still persists to this day, most Americans don't even know what communism or Socialism are, and call liberals who call for mild reform "radical leftists"
@Jumbo Jango Correction: "CoMmUnIsM"
@@gcil8214 it the teacher unions are the largest political contributor and they exclusively give it democrats?
So wacky and hilarious that "small government" always means "cut social services" and not "limit the president's ability to hire his friends"! Thanks so much for making videos that ask us to think outside the box, RC, it's somehow still shocking to this often underinformed, privileged American how undemocratic our "democracy" is
Look up the southern strategy. It's just that
Or "we shouldn't regulate food safety or pollution or working conditions" but "we should regulate people's reproductive freedoms and ability to organize". "We shouldn't spend money on education or infrastructure or investigations into white-collar crime, wage theft, and police brutality" but "we should spend money on imposing violent imperial authority abroad and to militarize an uncontrollable and unaccountable law enforcement and carceral apparatus."
@@digitaljanus The hypocrisy is WILD.
@@digitaljanus You sum it up really well.
Pretty cringey how much the Hamilton musical glorifies him when he said that sort of shit
Hamilton is cringe
Hamilton the musical was just telling and framing a story that's been told with music to make it more exciting and approachable. I don't think it was deep diving. It's like a kid in a play excited about Lincoln. It's hard to learn anything more objective about past leadership. Hamilton didn't do anything school wasn't already doing.
And let's face it, leadership is often viewed as a position for scoundrels and sociopaths that can push their ambition by any means necessary, but we rarely point out how narcissistic and against the common citizen those people would be. A nice president wouldn't be fathomable to most.
Hamilton isn't so much about Hamilton as it is about how absurdly lovable Lin Manuel Miranda is, imo.
Bruh even before I was radicalized I hated that cringy musical.
@@mcwjes Hamilton is about lin manuel miranda kinning a slave owner and then writing the musical equivalent of a self insert fanfiction about it
Its cringe
As a foreigner, the US constantly baffles me with new ways how it doesn't work like a "developed" country. It wouldn't be a problem if it wasn't the wealthiest and most influential country
But America would rather kill the entire planet than look for non Capitalist solutions
@@squidcultist0022 mistaken humans with no soul who are blinded are destroying our planet, along with the propaganda and lies that sweep the bottom of the filter of humanity in order to create misconception, miscommunication, and error.
*tenderly feeds the algorithm a corn chip*
we feed our engagement to you, mighty algorithm
May his window ever shine on the worthy
Here for the algorithm.
Blesseth be he, the almighty algorithm
may the algorithm forgive our sins and grant us decent content
This video reminds me a lot of an Edward Abby quote: Anarchism is not a romantic fable but the hardheaded realization, based on five thousand years of experience, that we cannot entrust the management of our lives to kings, priests, politicians, generals, and county commissioners.
Omg i love this quote thanks, didn't know it.
But what happens after
@@uncannyvalley2350 Hi Uncanny Valley. Spamming my comments section with a copied/pasted essay with links is not OK. Every last one of the dozen spammed identical comment was deleted in my dashboard, unseen and unread even by myself. Don't do that.
Indeed. Everything that happened after our revolution that didn't fulfill its ideals is the fable we're told. Revisionist history selectively omits whatever doesn't fit into the narrative that those with great wealth and political power want to tell and the citizenry to think about. When a revolution succeeds the only way they can ultimately hold on to their wealth and power is to pull wool over the eyes of the electorate. This describes the entirety of American history.
"Originalists" treat the Constitution not as text but as a pretext. Those who question the constitutionality of abortion but not the Air Force, of Obamacare but not illicit presidential pardons, are intellectually dishonest - often with themselves. I'm certainly not saying that a strict interpretation of the Constitution is the best position to take in the 21st century, but it would be a consistent and legitimate point of view, if only we found anyone who actually and consistently held that point of view. So it's valuable to poke holes in the fundamental dishonesty of those who claim to hold that point of view, denying them the opportunity to wrap themselves in the flag.
Plus, if we're going with authorial intent here, they anticipated it being ammended and updated much more frequently
Thank you for addressing that obnoxious "Republic not democracy" meme
Literally my father.
The word "republic" literally means "entity of the people," and "democracy" literally means "rule by the people."
Here here
Anakin, my allegiance is to the Republic, *_TO DEMOCRACY!!_*
That one is hilariously dumb.
So essentially, presidents are like: "I am the senate!"
Scary.
So, it's treason then.
Vetos would be more fun if every President sent them back to Congress signed "I am 2/3rds of the Senate"
Hello there!
*UUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNNLIIIIIIIIIMITEEEEEEEEEEEEEDDDDDDD POOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWEEEEEERRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!*
Sheev palpatines, every single one. Even jimmy carter and obama
"We're not a democracy, we're a republic!" Yep, just got this line fed to me by someone defending the electoral college. Like...yes, that's my problem with it!
It's also worthwhile to point out that "republic" is a very broad term that describes pretty much any country that isn't a hereditary monarchy/aristocracy or a theocracy. Moreover, an actual democracy would also be a type of republic. Therefore, it must be specified what species of republic it is. In the case of the US (and all liberal-capitalist countries), it is a *plutocratic* republic, so we could also just call it a plutocracy.
The US could definitely use an overhaul towards being more democratic
We are so freakin broken right now.
A lot of countries could, sadly.
The US in is dire need of an overhaul towards being democratic. I fixed it.
It's increasingly a blatant kleptocracy. It's really problematic
Problem is, the people who could do it, e.g. the politicians, are the same people who have every incentive to keep it this way and even make it less democratic
5:08 I've been warning my Singaporean relatives about this becoming their new problem and they keep telling me, "Well, it's not so bad as long as they keep the country rich and they do a good job of governing." Excuse me while I bang my head against the wall.
Yep, this is 100% true. The way the opposition won more votes but still only managed to get in 10 MPs into parliament is ridiculous. The "father" of the country narrative taught in schools here in Singapore is also disturbing to say the least.
@@CiceroSpeaketh so now, who was this guy, lee kuan yew or something like that? I remember hearing him once on an interview. He said "freedom is overrated. People don't deserve freedom. If you give people freedom, they abuse it. They act irresponsibly"...
After following the last couple of Presidencies, it boggles my mind how people like Trump, Obama, Bush, etc. get to choose the secretary of and direct operations of the HHS, despite having ZERO experience in healthcare and medicine. Which is why I think the Presidency should be split into 15 individual heads of the current cabinet positions with democratically elected specialists for each position. It's good to see in this video that this idea has been implemented successfully in countries like Switzerland.
Trump's Head of HUD was Ben Carson. A neurosurgeon...
And what made the Annoying Orange think that he would know anything about Housing and Urban Development?
@@michealforguson5317 lol he saw the word 'urban' and let racism take the wheel
(beckons the youtube algorithm like a wary wild horse and feeds it a sugar cube out of my hand)
Ha! The veneration of the founding fathers we see on a constant basis is pretty ridiculous in. 2020. This video furthers my suspicion that I don’t agree with their values at all. There is nothing about them that makes them infallible.
The more I learn about them, the more I dislike them.
I comment an inflammatory paragraph wherever it could be relevant about how the founding fathers were useless capitalist parasites because they couldn't even apply their own basic espoused philosophy to their own lives, and were so scared of hard work that they all had slaves. George Washington moved several times to intentionally abuse a loophole and not free his slaves who had a legal and moral right to freedom. If there is a Hell, the founding fathers are assuredly roasting there for all eternity.
or even marginally good
The American "revolution" was a revolution in that it replaced one group of white, male, aristocratic elites with another group of white, male, aristocratic elites.
@@swagmundfreud666
Who subsequently experimented with a written constitution involving a finely-tuned series of compromises to make a continental, federal republic work.
So no, it was revolutionary in more than just a change in management.
I thank you for this sharp and timely analysis of the Presidency.
Presidents are OP we should nerf them
Such broken mechanics, presidents should just be patched out on the next update.
@@Voidsworn But the Devs are taking their time to address those issues...
But like... actually
We need a serious buff to the Organize-and-Revolt counter.
In all this election drama, we never really stop to consider:
Is putting all this power in the hands of ONE DUDE -really- the best way to run a society??
Absolutely not. There's no need for a president or any Ruler. The president doesn't lead.
@@squidcultist0022 Monarchy and its forms have been the norm throughout history, golden ages are brought by them, and downfall is because of their ineptitude, so humanity simply show it can't progress beyond monarchy.
Renegade Cut is what we need in these chaotic times.
Yes.
Hell yeah
The American system is as bad as the late Roman Republic, but less durable. Change my mind.
i can't; you're right
@Kašpar Johan late Roman empire economy was based on exploitation of slaves which halted development and they didn't properly use the different parts of the empire for their economy. Also disease and bad harvests due to climate change contributed to the weakening of the empire. Ultimately yes the empire was its biggest enemy as corruption and warlords divided the empire in the later period.
The corruption and decadence is there; the mechanisms for how it actually fell apart are not.
Been saying this for years.
12:05
This is what brought us to cults like trumpism. People attaching their SENSE OF SELF to one man.
In a very unhealthy form of codependency, their very identities have been willingly given over and melded to a charismatic narcissist.
We got Trump through a fascist movement, and we will get someone worse then Trump in the future because it isn't going anywhere.
thank you for pointing out the codependency. also, the people who know that trump is a mess but still support him are enablers . this country is a gigantic dysfunctional family in which he fills a role of president/king/patriarch/bad dad. i’ve already survived my own home’s family dysfunction and have to deal with this crap on a national scale.
libs also do it with obama which is why we're not getting anywhere anytime soon
@@octopusmime he’s not even fatherly or powerful in personality though, he’s merely an obscene fat perverted master to project your hopes and fears on.
My outsider view is that the US suffers from "early adopter syndrome" in that it is stuck with a constitutional framework that sounded like a good idea at the time without many examples.
Other nations gained experience and didn't make the same mistakes as the US.
the us is in dire need of an update
The problem is first past the post elections so it prohibits the use of a parliamentary system
John Stuart Mills didn't come up with the parliamentary system until the mid 1800s
Only us, Australia and one other country uses our system
Seeing the flailing attempts of Trump to retain power show how much power and protection he has had for the last four years.
Trump is currently the strongest example of a modern Machiavellian president. He followed the "might is right" concept as far as it can go.
He made that painfully obvious.
The office of the President as chief executive was established by members of the wealthy aristocracy, a select few, that a single individual from among their own ranks be permitted to serve their interests.
Donald John Trump is *_not_* unique, because he is part of the modern-day aristocracy, a company CEO whose own family wields significantly huge portions of the US's $$$ - him becoming POTUS was the same as TJ and GW being elected to the presidency.
@@frocco7125 How about you just look a the US, it’s history and all of its presidents. Trump was not special, he was just like nah other president
@@frocco7125 remember Nixon you people in the us don't know what a Machiavellian politics are
I've kept coming back to this one... especially since the supreme court ruled that the president has immunity over any official act.
"But this is unusual, even unique, in the global north." - Yeah, we tried that in Germany and it didn't really work out all that well...
Scarlet Witch whispers: "No more presidents" leading to the offshoot "House of A" universe.
That's going to be really awkward when a poor mail worker in Alaska gets possessed by the presidential powers of all the depowered presidents and goes on an executive rampage in northern Canada only for Iron man to rehabilitate him and have him lead a Canadian Superhero team.
@@yy-hj4br Comics are some crazy shit.
@@kingofAwsomness as a Canadian I got really angry when Bendis just wiped out Alpha Flight for no good reason. I got even angrier when Tony Stark swoops in and gives their murderer the responsibility of leading their replacement team. Alpha Flight is a part of the Canadian government in the comics, for context.
Proposition: Divide the Presidency into 4 separate positions: The Attorney General, Treasurer, Secretary of State, and Commander in Chief. Each position rotates an election each year in a 4-year cycle. Hence, you have a national election every year to increase demoracy. Also, give the AG pardon power and SoS veto power. All positions are subject to impeachment.
@plentyness As we know, everyone has a rocky start of their presidency but learn to handle power. It's why Trump is doing so well! /s
In all seriousness, people in the system proposed by Tom would likely run for a position they have more experience with (soldiers for commander, lawyers for AG), because there wouldn't be the same glory and prestige that the "president" has, and the cycling of executive powers a la the Senate is a pretty interesting idea.
@plentyness the house of representatives currently serve two-year terms so as to clue themselves into voters more than a longer term like a senator. would adding a year alleviate that problem?
@plentyness What do you mean by this? He said 1 changes each year on a 4 year cycle not all changes every year. Furthermore each job is essentially 1/4 of the current president position so they should be about 1/4 as hard to learn meaning even if they changed each year they should learn about as much about their jobs in 1 year as the president does about their position does in 4.
Following the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, many states copied the single chief executive but seeing the corrupting power of all that authority in a single office decided to have other executive officers elected such as Secretary of State, Attorney General and Treasurer. Some even took away the power of pardons from the Governor and put it in a Board of Pardons that consists of the Governor and those other elected executive officers.
This is like what they have in Switzerland and it would definitely be preferred.
Great video! Our rulers will never accept any changes that undermine their rule. We must make it happen directly.
I have to admit: I was never as gratefull to live in switzerland as now, while watching this US election...
Also: Those seven Bobbleheads are a WONDERFULL tool in diplomacy... "Sure, we send you our Head of State to negotiate..." and if the first one fails, well, we have six more of them :-P
Reminder that "Anarchism is Democracy taken seriously"
democracy is majority rule, anarchy is no rulers. that being said, i think majority decision making would prove quite useful within an anarchy. but a vote is never a replacement for consent.
@@SirArthurTheGreat anarcho-communism (which was coined specifically to be differentiate itself from "plain" anarchism) envision such a society. but it's democracy in the sense of majority decision making within organisations, not majority rule. every genuine anarchist (including anarcho-communists) opposes systematic coercion.
oppressing minorities is not compatible with anarchism. but it's the core of state democracy.
Yes, thank you.
@@sofia.eris.bauhaus Democracy is NOT majority rule. That's a distortion of the term largely resulting from the American project, and the misapplication of the term by de Tocqueville.
Democracy is rule of the people, and when everybody rules together, then no individual or group is a ruler, so the ideas are actually very similar in meaning. Anarchism is an idealistic project, due to the fact that after centuries of social conditioning of class society, the cultural transformation will take much longer than the political change of power, necessitating that when the previously "ruled" become the ruling class, measures and institutions will necessarily have to be employed to prevent the previous ruling class from reasserting their power.
Communism is the theory of striving for a truly anarchic/democratic society that actually takes this historical-social reality into account in developing strategies for the transitions, both revolutionary and evolutionary, necessary to bring about human liberation through such a society.
On this dark morning it’s great to see a video from you.
Rufus Sewall played Alexander Hamilton in the John Adams miniseries, then he played a nazi in The Man in the High Castle. It's easy to imagine the latter performance was informed by the former.
Wow. Spoken like a true scholar. I'd feel comfortable sharing this in a lecture hall on polysci or political philosophy class. Fine work!
Best take on the 2020 US presidential election results so far
I would not have made it through the last year without this channels voice of reason. Thanks for all your hard work and effort to share it.
Wait... they’re all kings?!
Always have been.
*gun shots*
I love how memes have gone text-based on youtube. Since google are cowards and won’t allow picture memes.
the swiss model is a good one to look to for reform in america.
Or the lichtenstein model. Hell I'll even take a mixture of both.
Going to be re-watching and passing this one around a lot.
The question is, apart from a full on revolution, how can the system be changed?
You might try defenestration, high risk of following war but maybe it will work better for Americans.
Through the people, the current problems only persist because most people allow it to for one or more reasons. Or are convinced they have no say when they greatly out number the higher ups a million to one. When you think about it. The power of the few only really comes from the many. If the majority isn't going to take it anymore, that power fades away real fast. As most if not everyone is done listening to them at that point. It's not like these people have super powers or are chosen by gods. At the end of the day they are just as mortal as everyone else.
Get involved
@@ADHR26 that is an extremely centrist and status quo position. While I disagree, I would like to discuss why you think this is the best option. Would it not just, in essence, be a continuous blind hope to keep putting power in the hands of a system and power structure that always has and always will overstep it’s rule to the detriment of all those who voted them in? The way I’m thinking about it, it seems like we’re already doing that, and that hasn’t gotten us in a good place (as evidenced by all the history talked about in the video).
@@ADHR26 the issue is that if you are placing your trust in someone who has the means and capability to fund and become a president, you have already conceded that there will be no fundamental change...why would a person who has benefited from the system look to change it?
Sorry, therapy, you're going to have to wait for a bit.....
Edit: Managed to watch this and make it to therapy. Great work, as always! ❤
Commenting for the algorithm
I would never do that
Yessss
Awesome vid
Spam those comments
I can't believe you didn't call this 'The President is Garbage and here's why'
So if Teddy Roosevelt's Bull Moose Party stayed around, things would actually get done in case of a Mad-With-Power President?
Thank you for this video Leon ! It's always such a pleasure to hear your well documented and thoughtful essays. They are much needed in those times.
Thanks for posting just when we needed you the most (which is always =) ).
I'm taking a political science class right now about American Presidency and this video sheds some light on he current hellscape of modern presidency in USA. Keep up the great work! Love this channal!
Seeing this was like Christmas morning
*gives algorithm a little smooch*
Anarchism is democracy taken seriously. Great quote.
Great video. I've always wondered why we give the president so much power and now I realize that it was not "us" that did it.
This is pretty darn timely this morning. We are doing to do battle now but the power of the office is too great. I’m afraid we’ll lose. Democracy will lose.
It didn’t lose. Sincerely, the future, nov. 7 2020
God imagine what the US would look like if we never replaced the Articles of Confederation with the Constitution
They couldn't get it to work with 13 states. I'd imagine it would be a tad more difficult with 50. Post-WWII Europe might have looked differently had one of the major Allied powers needed to get 48 different militias on the same page.
@@foxymetroid Why would you assume the other 37 states would have come into existence in such an alternate history? Certainly, one of the key reasons for seeking independence from Britain was to continue the genocidal westward expansion, but under a wholly different political model, the specifics would undoubtedly have played out entirely differently. There might still be only 13 states, but with territorial exclaves reaching across the continent.
Or there might have been successful revolutions of small farmers and proletarians, and they might have overturned the expansionist aims of the wealthy planters and merchants.
This is an absolute masterclass on how to make an informative UA-cam video. Bravo!
I do prefer my country's approach to the office of president: Meaning that while we have a president, he/she is strictly a figurehead with no real political power. But he/she does have the ability to steer the country in the right direction and to unify the people in times of difficulty - simply because the office is, by design, above party politics. Sorta like what the Queen is/should be for the UK. Minus all the sex-scandals and the tax-funded luxury lifestyle, that is... :)
Which country if I may ask?
F
You mean Finland?
@@KC-ep6sg Germany
Hi!
Actually the Swiss systems has even more interesting traits. We can vote on most big desicions directly, like if they want to buy new fighter jets for the military or if they want to give fathers leave after the birth of a child (those are two examples from the last vote).
In addition Swiss people can start initiatives and if they collect enough signatures our government HAS to put them to a popular vote. This actually happens quite a lot.
On the other hand we also got some laws which are ‚the will of the people‘ but very xenophobic. For example you can no longer build minaretts in Switzerland, because the Swiss Peoples Party was successful in pushing through an initiative an popular vote.
I would love to see a video on those topics and how if you give the people direct democracy this can be corrupted and misused.
Thanks for the immensely interesting video!
Then build "cell towers".
Thanks for the shoutout to Austria 😁. Our president is truly just a figurehead, but that's how we like it.
I had no idea just how far the US president's powers truly reach, so this video was very enlightening. Great job 👍
I'm loving these more anarchistic video essays Mr Cut
Stay tuned for "No more Presidents 2: Desperate Struggle"
As appealing as this sounds, it's never going to happen. It would take a massive movement, and getting the majority of Americans to agree on anything is like trying to herd chickens with their heads cut off.
thank you for educating me through these years. you are a great teacher.
I literally checked the channel a few hours ago hoping for a new video and now ta-da! Gives me hope for the future
Another excellent video and outlines a similar argument that I had the other day where I made a similar point: that the president is effectively an elected king.
You guys badly need some fundamental reforms. Or revolution. That works too
Howard Zinn's People's History of the US is just such a great book.
Always a good thing to listen to Leon and an even better surprise to see him on camera. That bit right at the end with the police SUV is hilarious.
Excellent video, Leon, one of your best yet. I enjoyed every minute of it and I liked seeing you on camera.
I was JUST thinking about the future of our government, & this was the answer
Hi Leon, I've been following your work for years, even back during the dark C*****L A*****E days. This is by far your best work yet. I am completely floored and in tears (that last part is not hyperbole- this election has been an emotional experience).
So who's this guy in the dashing blazer?
I never really thought over how much power the president held. It’s so scary, and the worst part is that people either don’t see it or don’t care.
great essay as always. thank you for all your hard work in educating us on all the things we should have been taught in school.
wow that was eye opening. you've got me rethinking my entire existence.
I know for me that when I say the United States is a republic not a democracy it isn’t to say that their complaints are invalid, it’s to say that what you’re asking for in the first place wasn’t in the design. So when people say oh the United States shouldn’t be like this because that’s not how a democracy should act to me that is already a faulty statement. So what I would do is instead of arguing that we should do a certain act because that’s how our democracy would work I would argue that we would do a certain act because that’s how the republic works
This is a really eye opening reframing of something we take for granted
I always enjoy your content, but this is exceptionally well written.
No more presidents would be amazing
Engagement for the algorithm. Great work as usual.
Thank you so much for this wonderful video, for presenting the grim facts but still giving us a tiny gram of hope at the very end.
Thanks for this. I’d never really thought about all the things we’ve been letting the president get away with. We can’t delude ourselves into thinking we’re free as long as we let one man have so much power.
I have to ask why even keep the constitution. America holds it at such a high regard in the mythologized America yet it is clear that these are problems in it that no one questions or when it is, it's interpreted with those ideas in mind so as expand the definitions of what is in it.
If there are problems in your country, then you should not be following the guidelines what created your country but change or remove those problems and be honest about your own countries failures.
I'm from South Africa, and we did change but are still feeling the fallout of the apartheid, yet our government has been questionable when coming to those issues.
It's nice to hear from a anarchist communist, keep up the good work.
Hey who's that handsome video essayist!
God dammit I LOVE THIS CHANNEL. You’re videos are such a fantastic resource to do many people looking for information, and honest discussion.
Cited sources, and wonderful editing.
"Mr. Washington, the senate will decide your fate."
"I AM THE SENATE!"
More people need to see this
"The United States is also a one-party state but, with typical American extravagance, they have two of them." -Julius Nyerere
Great Video, definitely going to keep this bookmarked for future reference. Really appreciate the lack of pessimism and cynicism, and for all the useful information that society will hopefully use to improve the future. It may take a couple life-times, but I have hope for humanity.
President is more powerful than I thought. Didn’t think about the Congress problem until now. 66 people in a hugely important position have less determination on the state than the head of the regime? Outrageous.
i didnt see this in my feed!! 😩😩and this video has been a long time coming, good work 😘
Gotta love all the examples of people organizing in decentralized local communities going well and still hearing people ask "well how will anarchism work?"
Don't tell the Hamilton nuts that he recommended a dictatorship lmao 😂
Here's another comment for the algorithm, because I think your material deserves more exposure.
The U.S. President is a modern day king.
I'm glad a President is only a 4 Year after every Election. But GOD DAMN, the amount of Damage is Awful.
(takes the algorithm out for a lovely candlelit dinner)
You can only have a Democracy if you have a politically educated ,or at least educated, voting body. I find it strange this criteria of education is never mentioned in a definition of democracy, without education people turn to demagogues, the education split leads to different classes with different interests, and people kind of just don't know how to vote if they don't know all the positions they can vote for, not just members of congress and Presidents. But political nihilism in a culture can be as bad as institutional laws against voting, the new illiteracy isn't preventing books from getting in poeple's hands, its taking away their desire to read
We need voting representative of _people_ not _land_ and we need an end to rule by political minority- #ALLconservatives and their #conservativeprivilege
This sentence is a sacrificial proffer for the mysterious god of algorithms.
May it grant this video, visibility.
Thank-you, I've been waiting for this.
As always, great stuff Renegade!
This was a really good and informative video! I did notice one misleading use of numbers though, with regard to vetos. You pointed out how few vetos are overturned, but I think it's significant that the president is fully aware of how many votes the original bill recieved. They can (and do) hold back on issuing vetos they know they won't win, so their success rate would be expected to be skewed high to some degree. Not that the whole thing isn't a problem, but based just on these numbers we don't know how many times the president would have vetoed something but knew they didn't have the votes.
this made me rethink my entire high school education within just the first ten minutes of the video... thank you