Ep 31 Why no one including Marxist and left anarchists (not merely H. Hoppe) believes in Democracy

The Mindcrime Liberty Show discusses Hans Hoppe’s criticism of democracy and why no else really believes in Democracy including various groups of the left: Left libertarians, Marxists, left anarchists, social democrats, and other factions who often times hide behind the word democracy when they in fact have other goals than just majority decision making. For all the criticism that Hoppe’s book the Democracy the God the Failed got, we subject that criticism toward the left. For example if a 51 percent group in a given area votes to outlaw homosexuality or no “fill in the blank group” allowed, would Kevin Carson, Richard Wolff, Cornel West, or you average leftists think that is legitimate even if it’s done “democratically”?

 

What if an elected party or person (and does so while campaigning) intends to abolish democracy and create a personal dictatorship? It is highly unlikely in either case the left or left-liberal groups would support these parties. Another problem about democracy is the existence of power, truth/science, division of labor, and class/gender/ethnic divisions. There is the classic 1984 line about the state saying that 2+2=5 whereas everyone would clearly say the answer is still four even if a democratic state did so. Whatever the actual “truth” of the matter on origins of the species, it is the case that in plenty of areas if the matter was put up for election intelligent design would be taught in school for better or worse.

One could always take the Foucauldian version of truth and say it’s merely power and that truth doesn’t exist which then you wind up with the Foucauldian critique of science as well as scientific imperialism (destroying traditional teachings on the grounds that they aren’t true...although if you read Stephen Meyer or watch him debate I am unsure if that is actually proven). which interestingly even itself ends up falsifying democracy as well.

There is also the classic elitists position as Michael Malice and Moldbug puts it that the “idiots who need leaders don’t have the ability or the right to pick them.” This dovetails with the classic claim that the best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter. Finally the hardcore Marxists, just as the hardcore libertarians, think of there are socio economic theories as being true regardless if they are elected and of course actual existing socialism/marxism tends to be quite undemocratic. It’s not like minorities under Fidel Castro or Stalin got treated well (just see the treatment of Afro-Cubans
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/11/26/1604234/-Fidel-Castro-s-Racist-legacy).

 

 

Finally we end with a discussion of why workplace democracy is a flawed idea which if executed needs work. This is what someone like Richard Wolff tends to argue for but as David Friedman points out the small dictatorship model (i.e. a restaurant or business run by a boss) with the right for employees to leave and start their own firm or get a different job is actually more effective, and as pointed out above, actual existing socialism is a dictatorship too where workers do not have very good choices. The advocates of workplace democracy and trade unionism also have to deal with the problems of outsiders and innovation. Do unions represent the interest of the consumers or foreigners or merely the workers? Arguably in the US, cops and teachers are too protected by trade unions. As far as technology is concerned trade unions can also promote backwardness by forcing higher prices and inefficient modes of production merely because workers are protected.