[Oe List ...] Demagoguery

[Herman Greene]

I don't think you can rehabilitate the word demagogue that way. I wouldn't
call Joe a demagogue and while I wasn't there doubt that what happened was
for lack of a demagogue.

 

  _____  

From: oe-bounces at wedgeblade.net [mailto:oe-bounces at wedgeblade.net] On Behalf
Of Rod Rippel
Sent: Sunday, November 08, 2009 2:52 PM
To: Order Ecumenical Community
Subject: [Oe List ...] Demagoguery

 

    I'm intrigued by recent exchanges re JWM's impact, zombies and
facilitation.  And, by a book by Michael Signer, "Demagogue, the fight to
save democracy from its worst enemies."

    Perhaps Joe could be seen as one attempt toward a new model for avoiding
the dilemma of the demagogue.

    In his book Signer describes the inherent weakness of democracy as the
political system which breeds demagogues who become tryants planting  seeds
of their own self-destruction and violence, creating Facism, oligarchy, or
dictatorship in the process.  

    Demagogue (from the Greek, demos, the people and agogos, leader,
teacher, etc..  Examples: A. Hitler, Huey Long, Joe McCarthy, Geo Wallace,
etc.

A charimatic leader of people -- usually by strong emotion and oratory --
who garners power.

    JWM, whatever his gifts and shortcomings, saw the need for engineering
some kind of new polity which would not concentrate power in one individual.
His stance was embedded in the image of the RS-1 pedagogue/LENS facilitator;
an image of raising life-questions not giving answers but options.

    The tendency of RS-1 participants to see the pedagoge as an authority
figure was effectively avoided when the pedagogue disappeared

    The people, some would say the rabble, want a Tyrant (someone or
something to give their lives a purpose).

    Was the collapse of Order Polity after JWM because we couldn't live
without a demagogue? Couldn't find one? or didn't want one?  Or just
fatigue?

 

Rod Rippel

 

 

 

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