The essence of a democracy is the Individual.

The essence of a democracy is the Individual. To be sure, the form of Government must be structured democratically. But, even a Democratic 'political structure', cannot long-live, without the help, or the cooperation, of the Individuals who created it, and the same People, that it purports to govern. The reason is clearly because the form of Government is only an 'abstract structure'. Its a 'verbal generalization' that must be filled with democratic 'activity'. The generalization becomes a 'governmental institution', that continues to exist as a 'theoretical structure' that must be 'imbued' with 'life'. That 'life' is the 'life' of the Individual. Only the human being is 'alive'; the Government structure is only a 'political institution'. The 'theory' of Government is enlivened with 'democratic activity'. That becomes possible only because the Individual in a Democracy is considered to be Free and Equal. That's also why non-democracies that do not consider the Individual Free and Equal, cannot benefit from 'democratic input'. Those Governments survive only as long, as the Individuals they govern, permit it. All Institutions continue to exist, so long as the People participate and permit it. An 'ignored Institution' cannot long survive. Human beings must have Government, and Governments must have Power, but Government cannot ignore the human beings it purports to Govern.

Power is a 'given' in the constitution of every Nation: Competition is the essence of an Economy.

Power 'drives' every Nation. The economy is always important in the 'welfare and the well-being' of every Individual within any Nation. But, the Freedom and Equality of the individual is the essence of Democracy. Hence, the power of every Nation depends on the Freedom and Equality of the Individuals. In a Democracy, the Individuals 'grant' to the Nation, its democratic Power, therefore, the 'general welfare' and the 'economic well-being' of every Individual becomes important to a democratic Nation. The problematic arises when the economy attempts to 'inject' an economic value system, into the Political domain. Politics cannot be driven by the profits engine. The success or failure of the economy will always depend on competition within the economy. The question, then becomes, how can the Individual, who is Free and Equal, compete within a corporate economy. Unfortunately, competition is dead within a corporate economy. The Individual can still compete on a 'lower level', but not on a 'National level' and not, with a corporation. Hence, Government begins to rely and depend on the corporate structure more than on a Free and Equal Individual. Before long, the Government will become 'dependent' on corporations instead of the Individual. That's Oligarchy, on its 'way' to Plutocracy. The Individual creates a Democratic form of Government; and then, the economy and 'greed' ( the 1%) take over the 'creation'. If this keeps up, were right back to the 'Kingdom form of Government'. Corporations need to be regulated and the Freedom and Equality of every Individual needs to be respected.

All Nations function with Power; some Individuals function with Reason.

All Nations have Power at the Top, i.e., "institutional Power, while all Individuals, at the Bottom, have Reason. Since the Top must govern, it needs Power, even though its 'only' an Institutional Power. Meantime, the Individuals at the Bottom have reason. Reason is the 'guiding aspect' of their individual lives. Individuals do not have Power; they may have 'influence, but that is a completely different thing. Only the political entity, called 'Nation', has Power. Hence, on the International sphere, Nations function and interact on an equal basis with Institutional Power. That 'international relation' clarifies the distinction between the function of the Individual and the function of a Nation. The question is, can 'Power' be reasonable or unreasonable? The answer is No! Power is Power. But, the 'exercise' of that Power can be reasonable or unreasonable. Of course, the problematic arises when the Top of any, or all, Nations, becomes occupied, as they must, by an Individual. Individuals function with 'ego' and reason and 'unreason'; Political entities function with Power. What a mess. When Individuals, begin to think they 'have Power', we're in trouble. When the 1% begins to think that 'money and possessions' is power, we're in trouble. To be sure, money has 'influence', but its never a guidepost for Power. When the 'economy' or 'Money' is equated with 'Democracy', we're all in deep trouble. I have bad news for the Plutocrats; if we become a Plutocracy, we're in trouble; the reason for that is that a Plutocracy always strives to become a Kingship. In such cases, even the 1% are not safe.

A Nation can be a 'vacuous abstraction', or it can be a strong 'embodied' Nation of 'flesh and bone'.

A Nation can be a vacuous abstraction, or, a strong, embodied Nation of flesh and bone. All Nations are abstractions, yet, can be an 'embodiment' of their People. The only way to achieve that political status is to 'represent' each and every individual under its care, in a real way. All Nations purport to 'represent' their People, yet neglect their 'basic necessities'. People who lack food, jobs, work, opportunities, homes, health, medical and daily necessities, are not being properly represented by their governments. Governments are strong, because they have Power at the Top of the so-called 'relation of the One and the Many'. They are institutions who exist only by virtue of the People who elected them or selected them. Of course, their are the Ones that were never elected or selected to serve in that position. Those Nations are weak, because they don't have the 'heart and spirit', or the support of the People they should be representing. In the same manner, even a Democracy that does not properly represent the People under its 'care' is also weak; for the same reasons. Government, or Governing a People, is always a two-way street. No Government Leader is 'strong' or 'powerful', of him or herself; s/he is strong because of all the People who support and obey the Government and its Leader. A weak Nation runs the risk of not getting the support of its People, when it becomes necessary; or, a weak Nation runs the risk of begetting a home-grown revolution within its own borders. 'Government and Governing' is about People and it's only they who can 'embody' a Nation with a real Identity, and a 'real' Political Power. Don't kid your-self's, there are more People in this World than Governments.

Big problems arise when National Governemnts 'go' International.

The relation of the One and the Many is a Governmental relation that applies to all forms of Government. We know that; and we also know that not all Governments are alike, but that 'all humanity' is, or ,should be, the same. So the problematic on the International sphere, can be described as, " how does a 'Democratic form' of Government, relate, to other Governments that do not consider the human condition in the same manner? Governments can only relate to other Governments on the level of 'established Governments' of Equal power. A Government never relates directly to the 'Peoples' of that 'other Government'. So, how does a Democracy relate to an Autocracy, an Autocracy that does not accept the 'equality of the Human Condition'? All governments are 'political Institutions'. They are 'abstract structures' that give practical form to the relation of the One to the Many. Nevertheless, all People, or, human beings, are real; they are 'not institutions'. The so-called, 'social' in any form of Government, is a general abstraction, but the 'Peoples', regardless the 'form' of Government, are all real. Hence, can a Democracy relate to an Autocracy; a Socialistic; or a Dictatorial form of Government, in a 'moral manner'? Or, is there such a thing as 'Morality' in International Relations? Can Governmental Institutions be 'Moral' or 'Immoral'? If 'Morality' does not apply to 'Political Institutions' on the International sphere, what is 'political correctness' on the International sphere? Where do we 'look' for a 'fundamental basis' for International Relations? Is the 'fundamental relation' a relation of Government to Government, or, Government to 'all People'? Obviously, no Government can exist in isolation. Equally obvious, is the fact that the human condition is sacred.

Human beings who live in a Democracy; an Autocracy; a Dictatorship; or any other 'form' of Government, are all the 'same'.

A human being, regardless the nature of the Government s/he lives within, is still a human being, and will always be a human being, and hence it can be said that 'Humanity' is all the same. All humans have the same amount of 'life' within them. There are no exceptions. Truly, they may have different, individual qualities, color of skin, languages, but their 'humanity' is all the same. All are 'Equally Human'. However, not all live under the same form of Government. The sad part is that all Governments are 'operated' by individuals who have ascended to the pinnacles of political power, and who, apparently, 'forget' their humanity and embrace Political Power. That's a big problem in Politics. 'Governing' is not 'ruling', its not 'demanding', its not substituting the 'Equality' of the human condition, for the Power that is granted by the 'condition of togetherness that characterizes the 'life force' of the Bottom of Government. 'Humanity' is 'real', 'Government' is an Institution that arises out of necessity. Each has its place but, unfortunately, that's not the only problem in politics. One other problem, is that economic values are being substituted for Democratic values. Now, economic values determine, who gets to 'ascend to the pinnacles' of political power. Hence, human beings 'forget their humanity'; embrace 'political power', possessions, and money, and hence, sabotage their own Governmental Institutions. Governments can be a problem, but so can Humanity.

A real Democracy is only possible in a Government that 'implements' it, and a 'Social' that 'practices' it.

A 'real' Democracy is only possible in a Government, that implements it, and a Social, that 'practices' it. Unfortunately, a real democracy can go wrong, at either end, or at both ends, of the 'relation' of Governing. A Government or a Branch of Government can fail in its 'application' of democratic 'principles', as well as, Individuals living within a Democratic form of Government, can fail to 'live democratically'. Examples of failure, at the Top of 'the relation' of 'government', are those that take a different form. The Governments that assume a 'Triadic form', or a Democratic form, but fail in the implementation of one or another of the Three Branches, are those that have 'abuses' in the Executive Branch; those that have 'abuses' in the Legislative Branch; and those that have 'abuses' in the Judicial Branch. Of course, all the previous, lead to imperfections in the 'forms' of Government, or in the 'implementation' of the relation of 'Governing'. But, the most 'glaring' and 'destructive' problematic in Government, occurs at the 'Bottom' of Government, or in the 'Social', where the Individual 'resides'. Why is that 'more destructive' and more glaring? Because, its 'disorderly' and 'revolutionary'. Of course, sometimes there are 'good reasons' for Revolutions. But, unfortunately, sometimes the so-called Revolutions, are just a 'complete failure' of the 'human condition'. When humans revolt for no apparent reason, or no justifiable reason, its a human failure, not a government failure. Democracy is possible, but only when the Government, and the Governed, both, can live in 'Freedom' and 'Equality' of the Individual. How sad, the Individual does not understand the 'necessary relation' of Government and the 'necessity' of living with each Other.

Every Nation, and its Government, is an 'artificial', political entity.

Every Nation and its 'Government', is an artificial, political entity. Does that mean, they're not 'real'? Absolutely not. But, we must recognize that every political entity is a 'construct', an 'institution', in most cases, with a 'history'. Human beings born within an established political entity, sometimes assume that the entity is 'theirs', is 'perfect', or ' the only one', and that the humans in some 'other political entity', are the 'strangers', the 'foreigners', or 'the Enemy'. The truth of the matter, is that all human beings are 'equally human'. Their is no human being that has less 'life', less 'humanity', or less 'Right' to exist as a human being, regardless of where s/he was born. 'Technology' will differ; the 'social' will differ; the political structure will differ; the 'economy' will differ; but the 'humanity' never differs. So, why are the 'Peoples' of Other Nations, 'friends','enemies', or 'strangers'? The Human Race is the same; every human is 'Equally' Human; every human is 'Free' to exercise his/her Humanity; Nations, and Governments, were 'created' to 'serve' the Human condition, to 'serve' their People; all People; not to 'rule' them; not to oppress them. The biggest problem in politics is that political power belongs to the Top, to the Government, but the Top of each and every Government, cannot function without a human being at the helm. In other words, Nations are political Institutions; without a human being at the helm, they're mere 'vacuous abstractions'. So, where do we go wrong, in our Governments, or in our Humanity?