# In obvious artifacts that fell across the universe barrier, this tweet

**URL:** <https://eldraeverse.discourse.group/t/in-obvious-artifacts-that-fell-across-the-universe-barrier-this-tweet/733>\
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**Created:** [September 18, 2024, 8:02pm UTC](https://eldraeverse.discourse.group/t/in-obvious-artifacts-that-fell-across-the-universe-barrier-this-tweet/733 "2024-09-18T20:02:25Z")\
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**Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 8:02pm UTC](https://eldraeverse.discourse.group/t/in-obvious-artifacts-that-fell-across-the-universe-barrier-this-tweet/733/1 "2024-09-18T20:02:25Z")

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> <https://x.com/ESYudkowsky/status/1836154347425796407>

I quote here for those who don’t X:

> Modern democracy – we can see today, with a more sophisticated repertoire of concepts – is founded not on the consent of the governed, but on _the dubious consent of the governed_.
> 
> It’s not that you _chose_ for all this government to happen to you. But rather that if you all, collectively, put in a coordinated effort over multiple years, you _could_ change out your government. So you _could_ make it stop – but you don’t – and that means it’s all your own fault, really, when people govern you.
> 
> Sure you whine about being governed, now and then; but you still show up to vote, don’t you? And you’re happy when the worse of two lizards loses the election? That proves you’re into it! And if you _don’t_ show up to vote, that means you’re not trying to stop people from governing you at all; and we all know what _that_ means about your real preferences, heh heh heh.
> 
> The system is not set up to give you, personally, a choice about being governed, or even a safeword that can make it stop. It’s set up to make it so that you theoretically _could_ have done something to be governed less, but you didn’t. And so those governing get to smile, to themselves, about how you clearly want to be governed by them after all. You haven’t put forth a massive effort to vote both political parties out of office; and that proves you like it, being governed, and makes it your own fault when people govern you.
> 
> Anyone with a passing familiarity with the kink literature will recognize that species of trope: democracy is government with the dubious consent of the governed.