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1. Trickster (trickster@mastodon.technology)'s status on Thursday, 22-Nov-2018 05:09:05 EST Trickster

   The main contradiction of liberal democracy is that it has largely been shaped through a history of various forms of illegal civil disobedience against entrenched power structures. Such civil disobedience is retrospectively seen as justified, and the people committing it are retrospectively seen as heroes. However, each successive generation is asked to believe that any further civil disobedience would be unreasonable.

   1. Strypey (strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz)'s status on Friday, 23-Nov-2018 04:12:18 EST Strypey

      in reply to

      @trickster ae, #DavidGraeber has written in a few of his essays about the inconvenient truth of every political order, that it establishes it's legitimacy in a successful rebellion against a previously "legitimate" order.

   2. M. Grégoire (mpjgregoire@mastodon.club)'s status on Thursday, 22-Nov-2018 15:33:30 EST M. Grégoire

      in reply to

      @trickster Is that true in the context of English law (or my own Canadian offshoot)?

      Thinking of #democracy, there was the "Glorious Revolution", but since then the Bill of Rights, the Reform Act, Catholic emancipation, women's suffrage, etc. were essentially accomplished by lawful means.

      (All right, yes, the suffragettes weren't 100% peaceful.)

      As for #liberty, again I think that was mostly achieved by parliamentary measures.

      Please do tell me what I'm missing.