Tag: democracy

The Advent of the Worlds First Parliament in Iceland

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When the Vikings settled Iceland, no monarch was installed, which forced these settlers to find a new system of government; democracy. The early decades of settlement were effectively without structured law, but after 2 generations, 36 leading farmer Vikings banded together to develop the concept of an assembly to govern Iceland referred to as the “Alþingi” (written “Althingi” in English) (pronounced “all-thing-ee”) in 930 A.D.. The council met once every year for 2 weeks to create laws, preside over and judge disputes, and appoint a legal speaker, whose responsibility it was to remember and recite the law. The Althingi convened at Þingvellir (written “Thingvellir” in English) (pronounced “thing-vet-lear”) which is a unique location as it is a gorge where 2 of the Earth’s tectonic plates meet and 45 kilometers east of what later became the capital city of Reykjavík, Iceland (pronounced “rake-yah-veek”). The term “Althingi” means “thing field” or “assembly field” in the Icelandic language. This form of government met for the next 800 years at this exact spot, even after merging with Norway in 1262, with the location eventually moved to Reykjavík in 1800. The Althingi is the oldest parliament in the world, which is astonishing as it is still functioning and currently running the country of Iceland as a whole

One of the Key Factors Behind the Rise of the U.S. as a World Super Power

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The U.S. went from being an experiment in democracy and a colonial backwater during the 18th century, to the most technologically advanced and industrialized country in the world in the 20th century, with this incredible transformation occurring because of those who founded the country and their understanding that the U.S. could not farm its way to wealth, with innovation being encouraged and promoted. Because of this simple yet novel idea, ordinary people suddenly had the opportunity to invent and make life easier for society at large, and were incentivized to profit from these ideas because of patent protection. The Americans developed a system in which new ideas were sought after because they were profitable which is a much more powerful motivational factor than prestige alone or the will and desire to help the greater collective of civilization. It’s not that the U.S. population is more creative than other nations, rather it is because the U.S. government actively decided to back and support those who pursued invention by providing them with a high probability to a path of moderate to substantial fortune. Protecting invention is single handedly one of the most important and influential ideas which has ever developed within the U.S., and even during the modern era, countries which fail to inspire innovation and protect it from theft and exploitation, continue to play catch up with industrialized nations who do reward and promote innovation

The U.S.’ Military Budget For Securing Oil Abroad

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The U.S. government spends $638,000,000,000 ($638 billion) per year on its defense budget, with $507,000,000,000 ($507 billion) of that cost spent upon Persian Gulf operations which situate U.S. military bases next to all major middle eastern oil sources. Ironically, the cost to secure and defend these oil sites is nearly 10x more expensive than the oil itself as the U.S. consumes only $56,000,000,00 ($56 billion) of oil annually. This massive offset cost is deemed necessary by the U.S. government to ensure the security of oil and to maintain its stability, making certain that oil is never again compromised as it was during the 1970’s when the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries decided to cut off the flow of oil imported into the U.S. The U.S. military occupies these regions on paper to defend democracy, but the truth is that these sites are only occupied to defend against the problem of the consolidation of oil

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Rigged Democracy

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Boris Yeltsin, a progressive politician and the father of modern Russian democracy, resigned and abdicated his presidency to prime minister Vladimir Putin in 1999. Putin speaks fluent German and understands English. During late 2011, over 100,000 Russian citizens showed up in protest of Putin’s administration. This protest was the largest demonstration since the Democratic Revolution in August of 1991. Social media played a large role in this revolt by providing evidence of fraud via smartphone video. Evidence included ballot stuffing which involved ballet boxes being stuffed before the polls opened, ballets hidden in the bathrooms of the polling station, campaign officials filling out ballot forms fraudulently, and erasable ink being provided to voters so that campaign officials could erase and rewrite the submitted vote in favor of Putin. Were it not for compact smartphone video cameras and social media which allowed for the instantaneous uploading of captured footage, the chance of this information ever becoming public was slim at best as all evidence gathered was collected spontaneously before campaign officials had a chance to react and prevent further inquiry

The Ancient Greeks Inventing Democracy and Currency

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The ancient Greeks are responsible for western democracy and western currency. The ancient Greeks were the first to invent and implement democracy stemming from the Greek term “dēmos” meaning “people” and “kratia” meaning “power”. When the ancient Greeks found what was then the worlds richest vein of silver, near a volcanic site, they exploited it to mine silver and mint coins which became traded not only locally but also between the Romans and eventually all of Europe. This idea then spread to the Americas when the Europeans arrived and colonized. The idea of silver being used as currency caught on because it was more easily found than gold and could be traded with ease because of its devalued monetary status. The conquistadors brought with them the ideology of democracy and currency which shaped the western world of the modern day