This is an homage to John Lennon's song, Imagine, which has become an anthem for those seeking social justice and freedom from religious Theocracy; freedom from Plutocracy; freedom from social injustice; freedom from racism and bigotry in all forms; freedom from Imperialism and Neo-Imperialism; and freedom from nationalistic hegemony. And this article discusses how we could establish those freedoms and social justice.
Lennon's song and the spirit it expresses is echoed by growing numbers of people who desire real freedom and liberty -- people who understand and honor Lennon's plea for us to imagine a world free from materialistic greed, an improved world in which a mentality of universal kinship prevails over the mentality of superiority, greed, and self-interest.
That is why growing numbers of liberal progressive people strive to establish grass roots populist movements that will wrest political power from those who hold it now. And some people in the world have found ways to do that.
In Greece, Spain, Iceland and a couple of provinces in Canada majorities of people have rejected their traditional political power structures and traditions, and they have instead chosen to unite under an alternative or third political party that espoused liberal progressive views and solutions that are for the good of the whole nation and the whole world.
However, that causes me to suggest that a caveat is appropriate now, because we should consider the history of leftist, progressive, populist movements and forces that have won political power in the past
Most such movements did a lot of good at first, and some did for a good while. For example, the Democratic New Deal instituted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt did a tremendous amount of good for a good while. However, over time it has been nearly destroyed by the right-wing ideology that morphed gradually but steadily from McCarthyism to Reaganism, which was successfully (but ostensibly) sold as being both "religious and patriotic." And far too many Americans bought it (and still do).
That, unfortunately, is not the only potential problem we would face if there were a progressive party victory. After all, there have been many cases where progressive or leftist movements and regimes began well and were very popular for a while, but eventually became corrupted by power. And in some cases, those kinds of regimes gradually became even worse and more dictatorial than the one they replaced.
My point is twofold. Part of it is that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. The other is that partisan politics and contests for power are inherently divisive, and the partisan political pendulum inevitably swings from the right to the left to the right, etc. And as long as there are partisan political contests for the throne of power, the pendulum will continue to swing, whether it is very slowly or fairly quickly.
The solution, therefore, could be to eliminate or bypass partisan political parties and the partisan political processes, thereby avoiding partisan conflict and the divisive contest for power -- and avoiding a winner-take-all contest that always produces losers who often become vindictive.
There is a better way. And to illustrate I will use Lennon's song title as a theme.
Imagine a world in which there is real Democracy and governments are of, by and for the people -- Democracy in which power is vested in the people and exercised directly by the people, with government that creates equality of rights and privileges, social equality, and a democratic spirit in which common people hold the political power.
Imagine the elimination of the divisive contest for the throne, and imagine the adoption of a way of choosing leadership that would produce government of the people, by the people, and for the people.
Imagine no more partisan political campaigns driven by the rule of money, and no more paid political ads or attack ads.
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