Negative Politics

[Nuroblav]

A lot of people aim to create what is in their opinion the best possible system, in order to create the society they see as the best. But what about thinking the other way? I had just been watching a video on creating the worst political system for everyone. The aim was to maximise misery as much as possible, creating a society that is the worst for absolutely everyone.

So what in your opinion would this look like? How would maximise misery for everyone for as long as possible? In my opinion, we would want something that was stable but oppressive. Doing something like dropping everyone into lava would last too quickly, so maximising misery would mean creating something totalitarian with absolutely no leeway for dissent whatsoever.

But what else would we add? Now yes, I'm joking of course and I don't actually want a society like this. I just thought it might be interesting. Take it away NSG!

[Yirophia]

A lot of people aim to create what is in their opinion the best possible system, in order to create the society they see as the best. But what about thinking the other way? I had just been watching a video on creating the worst political system for everyone. The aim was to maximise misery as much as possible, creating a society that is the worst for absolutely everyone.

So what in your opinion would this look like? How would maximise misery for everyone for as long as possible? In my opinion, we would want something that was stable but oppressive. Doing something like dropping everyone into lava would last too quickly, so maximising misery would mean creating something totalitarian with absolutely no leeway for dissent whatsoever.

But what else would we add? Now yes, I'm joking of course and I don't actually want a society like this. I just thought it might be interesting. Take it away NSG!

Totalitarian communism as a stand-in prop for an arbitrary dynasty of monarchs' claim to divine right to rule.

Also known as North Korea.

[Dumb Ideologies]

Woke ancapism where every slave worker is obliged to embody the company's progressive values 24/7 and gush about how liberatory the workplace is. In lieu of a lunch hour there's a daily rainbow parade of local gender, racial and sexual minorities who've "made it" going by on floats through the streets to compulsory cheering. Dissent isn't criminalised, but all communications are observed as a standard contract clause, with regular "two minute cancels" highlighting transgressors, who are then summarily fired, with no-one daring to associate with them for fear of being next. Absolute poverty exists among the unemployed, and is justified by the system on the grounds that it must reflect moral deficit and bad character.

[Vascottozer]

An extremely apathetic government that cares about nothing. There's no point in it being there than just ... being there.

[Vivolkha]

A mix of North Korea, Equatorial Guinea and perhaps even Venezuela. Think of a totalitarian oil kleptocracy where the government severely represses its citizens, but otherwise abdicates its responsabilities in education, healthcare, welfare and law and order. Instead, the government not only denies all political and civil rights to its citizens (including economic rights) but it is primarily dedicated to its own enrichment through plundering public resources derivated from oil wealth. Despite technically having the resources of a middle- or high-income country, these do not reach the population at all, which lives in absolute misery, with negligible public services and rampant crime, corruption and lawlessness. The government is stable enough to keep itself in power for long but unstable enough for the occasional failed coup and Great Purge-style retaliation from the government.

[Noel]

An oppressive theocratic regime that shuns anyone who doesn't live up to its high moral ideals, encourages isolation and violence against the out-group, has institutions that promote the building and maintenance of reputation by finding and exposing the out-group, but leaves all the detective work and debate mainly to individuals rather than the state so it even happens slow, ugly and dramatic.

[Pacomia]

Oceania from 1984, but without the brainwashing, secrecy, or censorship- everyone knows exactly what's happening and disapproves of it, but can't do anything about it.

[Country of CityTowne]

I find people discussing a subject like this often not taking into account the fact that emigration exists. Banning it-- for example, building a wall-- not to keep immigrants out but to keep citizens in.

[Polish Prussian Commonwealth]

A lot of people aim to create what is in their opinion the best possible system, in order to create the society they see as the best. But what about thinking the other way? I had just been watching a video on creating the worst political system for everyone. The aim was to maximise misery as much as possible, creating a society that is the worst for absolutely everyone.

So what in your opinion would this look like? How would maximise misery for everyone for as long as possible? In my opinion, we would want something that was stable but oppressive. Doing something like dropping everyone into lava would last too quickly, so maximising misery would mean creating something totalitarian with absolutely no leeway for dissent whatsoever.

But what else would we add? Now yes, I'm joking of course and I don't actually want a society like this. I just thought it might be interesting. Take it away NSG!

Tranhumanist totalitarianism where we basically take the option calculated to produce the most misery.

[Grenartia]

Somebody watches Jreg.

[Neu California]

Anarcho-capitalism

Bow to your unaccountable corporate overlords

[Grenartia]

Oceania from 1984, but without the brainwashing, secrecy, or censorship- everyone knows exactly what's happening and disapproves of it, but can't do anything about it.

That sounds suspiciously similar to real life.

[Skyhooked]

Dudes, I'd rather not give any ideas. Gods know, if someone in power gonna read this, take notes and test this on us all.

[Trollzyn the Infinite]

That would be Anarchism, as there would be neither Law nor Order and no one to enforce either. It'd be fucking chaos. Because despite what Anarchists might believe, there is no difference between Anarchism and Anarchy. They are one in the same.

[Country of CityTowne]

Dudes, I'd rather not give any ideas. Gods know, if someone in power gonna read this, take notes and test this on us all.

Geh heh. How do you know someone's not planning this right now? If so, I'd like to pledge allegiance to the Truest of All Gods, Sir. Kimstalin Trump-chan Hitler the Fifteenth, better and more powerful than even Cthulhu itself so that He may reign eternal.

[Skyhooked]

That would be Anarchism, as there would be neither Law nor Order and no one to enforce either. It'd be fucking chaos. Because despite what Anarchists might believe, there is no difference between Anarchism and Anarchy. They are one in the same.

Anarchy and anarchism ain't chaos, those are different thingies. Besides... total chaos has too short half life period and little to no means to maximize misery. And since there ain't no enforcement, nothing will prevent people from creating an awesome anarcho-commune or a new developed country with fair and just laws.

And people don't like to live in misery, and will go forth and fix it with all tools avaliable. So there must be a power of some sort to keep them in this dark state.

[Xmara]

Ultra-strict totalitarian government where individuality, free thought, and creativity are illegal. Innovative ideas are constantly struck down by the words “we’ve always done it this way,” even if the idea would have improved something. The only books permitted by the government are propaganda books, though it doesn’t really matter because education is forbidden for everyone except the ruling class. Everyone is effectively a slave to the government. There is no free time during daylight hours for pursuit of anything besides work.

My idea probably sounds ridiculously cartoonish to be realistic though. Or at least I hope so.

[Pacomia]

Dudes, I'd rather not give any ideas. Gods know, if someone in power gonna read this, take notes and test this on us all.

The OP was likely referring to this video by Jreg, which has already kept me lying awake on several different nights. I'm sure someone is taking notes anyway. These are just extra side ideas.

[Torisakia]

I mean you could look at whatever system the US has and get your answer there.

[Rojava Free State]

everybody's running around trying to create the best possible political system, but none of them are perfect except primitivism. So I thought instead of creating the best possible political system that maximizes the most amount of happiness from the most amount of people, we can instead focus on a political system that does the exact opposite. A technically feasible system that would maximize human suffering, for the longest amount of time possible. That why I'm out to create a framework for the worst possible political system, negative politics if you will. We're gonna design a society and we're gonna call it hell, because that's what it's based off of.

-Jordan Ruiz Escobar Garcia

[Yirophia]

I mean you could look at whatever system the US has and get your answer there.

Imagine unironically thinking that the USA is, far beyond being a relatively socially, economically, and politically liberal and prosperous state that happens to have a long list of flaws it must continue to work at fixing, is not only the worst country to exist presently, not even the worst one to ever be, but the worst one mathematically possible.

And oh that's right, it was Jreg. I knew I'd seen this explored elsewhere but I'd forgotten where.

[Horizonto]

Niger is a desertified overpopulated wasteland with the lowest level of human development of any sovereign nation in the world. Per capita (nominal) wealth is a meager $510 USD. In this West African hellscape, 1 in 4 children do not survive past childhood, malaria and measles are prevalent, and the nation has less than 1,000 physicians for a population of 22.4 million. Their neighbours include Libya, Mali, Nigeria, Chad, Benin, Algeria, and Burkina Faso — being landlocked by all of them. Makes the Orwellian capital of North Korea look like Disneyland.

Basically if you want to create hell, remove modern technology and human rights.

[Rojava Free State]

Is this the MPLA? Or is this the UDA? Or is this the IRA? I thought it was the UK, or just another country

Anarchy in the UK-the Sex Pistols, from their album Never Mind the Bollocks, here's the sex pistols

Clearly Britain in the 1970s and 80s was a negative politics paradise

[Torisakia]

I mean you could look at whatever system the US has and get your answer there.

Imagine unironically thinking that the USA is, far beyond being a relatively socially, economically, and politically liberal and prosperous state that happens to have a long list of flaws it must continue to work at fixing, is not only the worst country to exist presently, not even the worst one to ever be, but the worst one mathematically possible.

And oh that's right, it was Jreg. I knew I'd seen this explored elsewhere but I'd forgotten where.

I mean I've lived there my entire life so I think that gives me a good bit of credibility.

[Rojava Free State]

Imagine unironically thinking that the USA is, far beyond being a relatively socially, economically, and politically liberal and prosperous state that happens to have a long list of flaws it must continue to work at fixing, is not only the worst country to exist presently, not even the worst one to ever be, but the worst one mathematically possible.

And oh that's right, it was Jreg. I knew I'd seen this explored elsewhere but I'd forgotten where.

I mean I've lived there my entire life so I think that gives me a good bit of credibility.

There are places worse than America out there. I live in murder city, I mean motor city, and while it's absolute shit here, I would rather be here than in North Korea or the Congo