Today I will point out a common misunderstanding that leads people to get upset unnecessarily and in vain. Misunderstandings about the political system.

The Czech Republic is a typical oligarchic dictatorship where the ruling class is dependent on foreign support and has no reason to consider the interests of the local population. There is no mechanism that would allow the people to significantly influence political decision-making, nor is there any interest in creating such a mechanism. Different laws and rules apply to different people depending on which caste they belong to. Some civil liberties still operate out of inertia, but the regime has no interest in them, so they are gradually being curtailed. That’s how it is, that’s how we reckon with it, that’s how the ruling elite behave, and that’s how the population submits to it. Opinion polls show that the majority is under no illusions.

But besides that, there is still formally a constitution that says something completely different. State power uses various symbols that refer to the rule of the people and civil liberties. This is similar to how the Netherlands is formally a monarchy, there are certain ceremonies that are performed regularly, royal symbols are used… but everyone there knows that it is just an antiquated ceremony. If the Dutch Queen took over the government, it would effectively be a coup d’état.

It’s the same here. If the way the country is governed and run were to flip to the way it is described in the constitution, it would effectively be a coup d’état.

It is useless to fret about the “double standard” because the present regime is precisely based on treating people differently. It is useless to get upset that the government ignores the views of the majority, because the current regime is based precisely on the fact that the majority has no say in governance. It is indifferent whether we like it or not. The only option is to learn to live with it and possibly think about how to contribute to regime change.

You can buy me a coffee here.

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