I think about this comic all the time, even though it’s seven years old. (No reason.)
Canonical URL: https://wondermark.com/c/1298/
Is this an anti-democracy comic?
Not quite. Let us not conflate “criticism against one issue in a system” with “being against said system”.
Can one not form criticism of something without being opposed to it?
No, it’s about politicians who knowingly court dangerous and extreme voters.
And now that’s all they have left, and that’s how we ended up with Donald Trump and these fucked up weird Republicans.
Some of them lean into birtherism to keep their seeds back in '07 and '08. Now half the people at their rallies are carrying around swastikas and Confederate flags and clamoring for a race war.
More like anti representative government where politicians just take advantage of us. Direct democracy might be possible
But the premise of the comic is that the politicians are themselves pressured by the voters to represent positions they think are insane (and are actually insane?) and hope won’t actually become law, yet they do become law because the conspiracy to pretend to do something while doing nothing fails. With direct democracy you would assume those same laws would pass for the same reasons, not a different outcome.
Do you really think that so many people would suddenly care so badly about gender and immigration policy if they weren’t being induced with specific intention?
Just devil’s advocacy. I think you are right that direct democracy doesn’t protect us from moral panics, or even from people inducing moral panics for personal gain.
Buzz, your political system… Woof.
I don’t find it particularly funny but the art style is cool.
It’s the same deal with the sealion comic, from the same site: not exactly funny but insightful. And yes, the art style is unique.
Wondermark is rarely laugh-out-loud funny, but funny is only one thing comics can be. I like it because it’s smart, zany, and artistically interesting (every comic is made from Victorian woodcuts).
Laser sharp.
There’s an old saying: never underestimate the power of stupid people in large numbers.
Ah yes, Brexit.
