Mike Lenz - Voice Actor and Audiobook Narrator’s Post

"It was once said by a seventeenth-century writer that 'the good of democracy is liberty, and the courage and industry which liberty begets.' This view recognizes, of course, that democracy is not yet liberty; it contends only that it is more likely than other forms of government to produce liberty. This view may be well founded so far as the prevention of coercion of individuals by other individuals is concerned: it can scarcely be to the advantage of a majority that some individuals should have the power arbitrarily to coerce others. But the protection of the individual against the collective action of the majority itself is another matter. Even here it can be argued that, since coercive power must in fact always be exercised by a few, it is less likely to be abused if the power entrusted to the few can always be revoked by those who have to submit to it. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗱𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗶𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗶𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗿 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗷𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝗯𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁. 𝗜𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗳 𝘄𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘁." ~ F. A. Hayek, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘓𝘪𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘺 (2011 ed, org pub1960)

What is the connection between democracy, public administration and democratic backsliding? The draft introduction for the Policy Studies special issue is available below. The paper tries to connect these conceptually and empirically. Comments welcome! Papers for the special issue and more analysis to follow... https://lnkd.in/eb6KsRN6

First Principles: The Aim of Every Political Constitution Is…To Obtain For Rulers Men Who Possess Most Wisdom to Discern, and Most Virtue To Pursue, the Common Good of the Society

“Shifting the Momentum: Confronting Legacy of Enforced Disappearances” - My latest newspaper article is available online, published Today ( August 17, 2024). If you're interested, you can read it using the following link: Direct link to the article: https://lnkd.in/dQNTMzTt and E-paper format: https://lnkd.in/daVtCyTi

A populist may legitimately call for rolling back the power of the State but cannot simultaneously threaten to escalate the power of the State to prosecute their political enemies. As soon as a crisis threatens the fabric of a country or can be made to seem to threaten the fabric of a country, there are great temptations to override the constitution and any checks on power. One of the ways that contemporary autocrats attempt to mask their transition to dictatorial control is by amending or rewriting a constitution to weaken checks on their power. It looks like a legitimate process but shifts power away from the legislature, courts, a free press, and civil society organizations in ways that consolidate their own hold on the levers of governing. Learn about the power of political followership to prevent or interrupt this process in my new book, To Stop a Tyrant, available now everywhere books are sold. https://lnkd.in/ePXCaNAs

How Frederic Bastiat in his book “The Law” identified the fallacy inherent to the belief that we need government bureaucrats interfering in every aspect of our lives. Watch the full interview: https://lnkd.in/gFHSWFhQ

Had the pleasure of participating in a Q&A and book signing for N.Y. Times Best Seller, Barb McQuade’s new book; Attack from Within, How Disinformation is Sabotaging America. Very apt for the times.. “An urgent, comprehensive explanation of the ways disinformation is impacting democracy, and practical solutions that can be pursued to strengthen the public, media, and truth-based politics.” https://lnkd.in/g8r2mqjE

On Wednesday, November 6 at 1pm Building A New Reality (BANR) will hold the 3rd of 4 webinars in our “Expanding Restorative” series. The webinar is based on the title of founder Ted Wachtel's book: "True Representation: How citizens’ assemblies and sortition will save democracy." Register for a rich discussion on how citizens' assemblies can renew democratic processes. https://lnkd.in/ekpVw-rQ

The Constitution of the United States and The Declaration of Independence The essential, 45-page, pocket-size edition of the greatest gift from our Founding Fathers: the two most fundamental documents for Americans. This quick, easy reference for our federal government’s structure, powers, and limitations includes: The Constitution of the United States The Bill of Rights All Amendments to the Constitution The Declaration of Independence The Constitution of the United States and The Declaration of Independence are two of the most important documents in American history. Conveying the principles on which the country was founded and providing the ideals that still guide American politics today, these are the essential works from our history. Signed by the members of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia on September 17, 1787, The Constitution outlines the powers and responsibilities of the three chief branches of the federal government, as well as the basic rights of the citizens of the United States. The Declaration of Independence was crafted by Thomas Jefferson in June of 1776 and it provides the foundation of American political philosophy. Collected here in one affordable, pocket-sized volume are some of the most valued pieces of writing in the history of our country. This edition contains The Constitution of the United States of America, including The Bill of Rights and all of the subsequent amendments, as well as The Declaration of Independence. These are word-for-word facsimiles of significant documents… Every American should own a copy. #BookRecommendation #GoodReads #Books #ReadingList #BookCommunity #BookLovers #Bookworm #NowReading #BookClub #Inspiration #Motivation #GrowthMindset #LifelongLearning #ThoughtProvoking #MustRead #BookOfTheDay #WeekendReads #PageTurner #TopPicks https://lnkd.in/gmH_ZyPx

Was 2023 a bad year for direct democracy? Read Global State of Direct Democracy to find out about this and much more! Link in the first comment below 👇 The first edition of the Global State of Direct Democracy Report is focusing on the year 2023. Legal provisions, referendums held, short-term trends in the use of direct democracy institutions, reforms and academic publications are gathered and commented on to provide a comprehensive picture of the current state of direct democracy globally.