As I'm watching these news from Ukraine, it makes me really sad. People getting hurt on both sides (a couple of police officers were attacked by molotov cocktails and got burns, really horrific). All the while politicians sit in their offices and give orders. The saddest thing of all is that all this fight will eventually be in vain. Whoever comes in power next will be corrupt or even if they themselves are not corrupt, then they wouldn't be able to get rid of an endlessly corrupt apparatus.
People fighting governments in protests should really understand one thing: they feed the beast with their own money. If they want to have any influence whatsoever they should organize not to go protesting, but to stop paying taxes and stop using corrupt currency. If you do that, then at least everyone will be able to see who initiates violence (and it will be the state trying to take tax money by force) Unfortunately, people are wired to fight individuals, because it's easy to identify them and see some actual paths to fight them. And most people reject the idea that they don't need rulers to make peace and order. Until they keep believing that, they will keep fighting and losing these battles against their owners. History predominantly is on the dark side, showing that most protests either lead to civil conflicts and wars or don't lead anywhere.
There's this joke I once heard: there are more good people than bad people. The problem is that bad people are better organized. That is very true.
Ukrainian government is less dependent on individual taxation, and more relying on corporate taxation (of enterprises divvied up among oligarchs) and external borrowing.
Taxation in a corrupt environment transforms into endless series of bribes one must succumb to "speed up the process" for pretty much anything.
People fighting governments in protests should really understand one thing: they feed the beast with their own money. If they want to have any influence whatsoever they should organize not to go protesting, but to stop paying taxes and stop using corrupt currency. If you do that, then at least everyone will be able to see who initiates violence (and it will be the state trying to take tax money by force) Unfortunately, people are wired to fight individuals, because it's easy to identify them and see some actual paths to fight them. And most people reject the idea that they don't need rulers to make peace and order. Until they keep believing that, they will keep fighting and losing these battles against their owners. History predominantly is on the dark side, showing that most protests either lead to civil conflicts and wars or don't lead anywhere.
There's this joke I once heard: there are more good people than bad people. The problem is that bad people are better organized. That is very true.