Self-responsibility and the achievement of freedom.

By George Tomko, a Toronto-based engineering physicist and neurophysiologist

Originally published to Medium on August 22, 2021

Democracy is viewed as the motherhood of political systems, the bedrock of freedom and prosperity. But the evidence no longer supports this view. All democracies, be they direct, constitutional or representative, have eventually devolved into either an aristocracy, as in ancient Greece, or to authoritarianism, as we are now experiencing. Democracy seems to be “the God that failed.” However, many still support it, some begrudgingly, because they cannot think of a “better” system, but mainly because the archetype of a governing structure is deeply embedded in their psyche.

Granted, many still view the challenges that democracy is facing as merely a personnel problem — “replace the existing scoundrels with our choice of politicians, and all will be good!” But all will not be good, for this is not a personnel problem nor even a “left vs. right” issue; it is a systemic problem revolving around use of coercion to accomplish ends that violate individual, property, and privacy rights which constitute the foundation of a politically free society.

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George Tomko, Ph.D. | Engineering physicist and neurophysiologist | @GeorgeMyPi

George Tomko is a Board member of Energy Probe Research Foundation, the umbrella organization of Probe International.