Define Democracy: Doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results.

A small notebook by Dong Zhang. Philosophy, history, and a machine-logic view of politics: what we can define, prove, and build—without mystery.

Essays

1. Democracy: Misery Seeks Company

   Definition of Democracy: Doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results.

   If democracy were so great, the United States would prevent China from stealing it.

   The First Law of Democracy: Repetitive Procedures

   Doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results. In the U.S., a two- or four-year repetition is enough to rekindle Americans’ hope.

   The Second Law of Democracy: One Party Rule

   All parties are capitalist parties—because communists are evil. In the U.S., both Democratic and Republican parties are capitalist, or more precisely, Christian-capitalist parties.

   So, capitalists always win every American election. As a result, the U.S. is a capitalist-party rule—Christian-capitalist-party rule, to be precise—just as China is a communist-party rule. The difference lies between the general election and the campaign.

   —Dong Zhang

2. Morning Three, Evening Four: A Daoist View on Choices

   Zhuangzi told of a monkey keeper who had to ration acorns in a bad year. In good times he fed four in the morning and four in the evening—eight a day—and the troop was content. Then came a poor harvest. He gathered the monkeys and spoke plainly: “This year, only seven a day.”

   He first proposed: three in the morning, four at night. The monkeys erupted—anger at the morning loss. So he reframed: four in the morning, three at night. Joy returned. The pile was the same seven; the feeling was not.

   Timing is emotion

   American tax politics repeats the fable. Democrats prefer more upfront taxes and services now—four in the morning, three at night. Republicans prefer lower taxes now and more burden later—three in the morning, four at night. The total—deficits, services, and future liabilities—must still add up.

   Same seven acorns

   Budget math is mostly timing. “When” changes how we feel about the same “how much.” Voters—like Zhuangzi’s monkeys—often react to the schedule, not the sum. Smart people are not immune; clever minds can be very short-sighted when mornings feel empty.

   The keeper’s lesson

   The keeper didn’t change reality; he changed framing. Zhuangzi laughs: naming and timing rule our minds. Democracy argues over the calendar while the harvest sets the limit.

   —Dong Zhang

3. What Is Democracy We Can Prove?
   A minimal definition built from rules, rights, and transparent procedures.
4. “Emotionless” vs “Just”: AI in Courts
   Fairness needs procedure and audit—why emotionless doesn’t guarantee justice by itself.
5. The Ear→Eye Pendulum of Governance
   From oral law and priests to written codes and visual proofs—how media shape power.
6. Vatican, Science, and Legitimacy (A Parable)
   On why institutional certainty can fuel secular science, unintendedly.

About

This is a side space to play with political ideas using the same tools as my math/physics work: clarity first, pictures when helpful, and proofs where possible.

Sister sites: Define Math · Ear2Eye · Continuous2Discrete

Contact

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