In Canada’s 1988 single-issue federal election, a majority of the electorate voted for parties that promised to reject the North American Free Trade Agreement, but their jobs were sent to Mexico anyway and did not return even after the “ false majority” government responsible was kicked to the curb in the next election. In Canada, another pseudo-democracy, nobody has replicated Gilens & Page yet and I don’t think any political science student who wants to do so should expect encouragement from the academic establishment because I am certain the same results would emerge.Ī typical Canadian election involves turfing out a party who failed to deliver on their promises. It is also instructive to consider the specific policies which have caused the most severe economic harm to the poor and working class, like NAFTA. Perhaps the only reason voters get even 30% of what they want is to prevent them from building guillotines. Perhaps the big rats – the oligarchs – let voters win 30% of the time so we’ll continue to cling to the illusion of democracy, even though the little rats only ever win when the big rats let them. Of course, correlation is not causation, but perhaps this is the reason the average voter’s influence on public policy flatlines at 30% rather than 25%, or ten. If the little rat doesn’t play, the big rat can’t have fun. However, if the big rat doesn’t let the little rat win 30% of the time, the little rat won’t play. Adolescent rats love to wrestle, and Panksepp discovered that if one rat is at least 10% bigger than another, it will trounce the smaller rat every time. This figure may have a unique significance with respect the way our brains are wired. Oligarchy notes that the probability of a law passing is about 30% no matter what percentage of average voters approve of it. The Gilens & Page study (2014) that exposed the U.S. is a “democracy” has been stubbornly persistent for a number of reasons, including cultural saturation and cognitive dissonance, but there’s another factor that may contribute to maintaining the illusion of choice. However, plutocracy and oligarchy can be used interchangeably not just because the few who rule also happen to be rich, but because of the other feature both systems have in common: the average citizen has no say in public policy, so the ruling class does not have the consent of the governed. She's a really talented artist, who you can find on Twitter using where, among other artworks, you can get hold of the prints of some remarkable paintings of characters from Doctor Who.Oligarchy means rule by the few, but Plutocracy, which means rule by the wealthy, may be a more accurate term to describe U.S. Our cover art was designed for us by Bea Garrido. And also what makes a great workplace, how to turn things round when we're not enjoying our work and, in the end, how we can all make our work better. Richard has another podcast with new co-host Nicola, called "If It's Hurting, It's not Working" and it's a fun and informative look at work - why we work, how we work, and what makes a great job. Head over to, where we all love Paul's stories. Giles' book A History of the Universe in 21 Stars: (and 3 Imposters) can be found in all good bookshops and also here: You can rate us directly on Apple Podcasts or Please like or share our podcast with people who will enjoy it, so we can build our listener base high for happiness. Next time we'll have more to say on The Sunmakers, then move onto Oxygen This episode consists the first half of that conversation, featuring The Sumakers. After an interlude for several special episodes, we've brought back the original Something Who team, and after a close encounter with an AI bot we chat about a couple of stories that are capitalist allegories.įirst we'll look at 4th Doctor story The Sunmakers from Season 15, and after that we'll examine 12th Doctor outing Oxygen from Series 10.
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