A great Umair article indeed. Americans just don’t understand that there are at least two kinds of socialism.

My political philosophy is summarized in these four points:

1. There are situations in which governments need to let citizens make their own decisions and live the consequences.
2. There are situations in which governments should take collective action to better society.
3. The decision between #1 and #2 shall be made by democratic due process.
4. Any decision must be monitored to see how well it is working — and make changes as needed.

We really need to focus on #3: due democratic process. When our elected politicians are more concerned about the welfare of the political party that got them their elected office than the welfare of the people they govern, can the politicians really find the right balance between #1 and #2?

Methinks we should be looking at a different kind of politician, rather than trying to bend the will of those overly ambitious people who like jockeying for status, influence, and power.

Tiered Democratic Governance