Collapse: Is Now Locked In

[grarpamp]

Avoid repeating history, after the collapse simply
refuse to be governed by anyone or anything...


The Consent Of The Governed Is Slipping Away

http://charleshughsmith.blogspot.com/2022/05/the-consent-of-governed-is-slipping-away.html

The realization that we're not actually being represented at the
federal level has eroded the consent of the governed for the national
government.

The foundation of any government is the consent of the governed.
Democracies and republics are founded on the consent of the governed
earned via representational or direct democracy: those who have a say
and a stake in the system will give their consent to the government,
even if an opposing view is in the majority because their opinion is
part of the governance structure.

Even totalitarian states ultimately depend on the consent of the
governed, as repressive states that lose legitimacy cannot imprison or
kill a majority of their populaces, or restore legitimacy via coercion
once the populace has nothing left to lose and the organs of state
oppression realize the regime is doomed.

It feels like the consent of the governed is slipping away in the U.S.
The reason is so obvious we dare not acknowledge it or discuss it:
those in power--elected and unelected--only give lip-service to
"serving the public interest and common good." Beneath this flimsy
facade of PR, every action serves the interests of a wealthy,
politically potent elite or the self-interests of those in power.

Commoners have no real say in governance. We are consenting to rule by
self-interested elites under the guise of being represented by an
elite who governs at the behest and expense of hyper-wealthy
individuals, families, corporations, cartels and monopolies.

Consider the issue of legalizing cannabis. Poll after poll shows the
majority of the American citizenry favor legalizing cannabis, yet our
federal representatives and regulators insist on ignoring the public
will, public interest and the common good by continuing to classify
cannabis as a Schedule 1 drug, as addictive and dangerous as heroin
and fentanyl.

This is patently false and absurd. Hundreds of thousands of American
die from alcohol and opioids every year, while deaths attributed
solely to cannabis use are near-zero. Yet the federal government and
our elected representatives refuse to accept the reality that cannabis
isn't equivalent to fentanyl and other synthetic opioids which
continue to kill thousands every year.

Why? It's the money, honey, greasing their palms and paychecks. Big
Pharma views cannabis as a competitor so it lavishes billions of
dollars on campaigns, lobbying and shaping the media narrative to
serve their agenda of maximizing profits by any means available.

The War on Drugs Gulag of private prisons, law enforcement and the
judiciary also skim billions of dollars as a result of cannabis being
Schedule 1 (i.e. just as deadly as fentanyl). These powerful elites
would lose billions in funding if the will of the people actually
counted for something.

The realization that we're not actually being represented at the
federal level has eroded the consent of the governed for the national
government, and pushed the electorate to seek legitimate
representation at the state and local level. In response, states are
openly flouting federal statutes (for example, the Schedule 1
absurdity of federal cannabis regulations) and claiming sovereign
rights on issues such as currency (declaring gold coins as legal
tender in the state, etc.) and cryptocurrency.

We can anticipate a cross-migration as residents who disagree with the
majority views in their state move to states where the
majority-approved policies align with their own preferences. This
cross-migration will strengthen existing majorities into
super-majorities, further accelerating cross-migration as policies
that were considered extreme are normalized within states.

Within states, this relocalization of the consent of the governed is
trickling down to counties, which are increasingly under pressure from
the citizenry to ignore (or leave unenforced) state mandates which the
residents disagree with.

Capital also manifests the consent of the governed. Capital will
migrate away from states where it's treated poorly, science-based
enterprises will migrate away from states which restrict or starve
research and development and manufacturing will migrate to states with
willing, educated workforces and attractive infrastructure and tax
structures.

States and counties whose policies are detrimental to capital will
become poorer as capital chooses to locate to places where it has a
say in governance, just as individuals want to live in a place where
they have a say.

As the consent of the governed unravels, citizens may increasingly
decide which statutes they're going to obey and which ones they'll
ignore. Locales with strong community values will rely less on
statutes and enforcement and more on social norms and community
standards to maintain social order, while locales without any coherent
community standards and shared values will have to rely on enforcement
to avoid social disorder or meltdown.

Choose your community wisely. Thousands of pages of regulations won't
preserve the social order if the the consent of the governed and the
social contract both unravel.