Thanks Toma. I agree that CAs aren't the answer to all problems. But they are a useful tool. Where they appear to work well is when they do have some real power and those in power do want to use them to help make decisions, not just PR. I'm sure if they are implemented widely in a country (US for example) some politicians will use them cynically just for PR, then ignore anything they say. They have to be given power and publicized, so if they come up with ideas that people like and they are ignored, there are electoral consequences.
CAs along with sortition for more government positions could be a nice 1,2 punch.
Agree that many governments are just two big to be managed that way, but if all of us had local CAs and sortition in our communities, we would be more informed and civic-minded - unlike today,
"Democracy" comes in many different forms. People are dissatisfied with representative democracy because the representatives are captured by special interests. Participatory democracy involves people and minimizes special interest - so the common good is optimized. Size matters. The smaller the group, the easier it is for all to participate. Relocalizing decisions is part of the process. There are a range of deliberative democracy methods available beyond CAs. The more we learn about these methods of decision making and use them, the more participatory and constructive our decisions will be. Google deliberative democracy, and use what you learn.
CAs aren't much different than town hall assemblies. Growing up in a small town I got to see first hand the political manipulation of even a tiny government. Special town meetings announced the day before the meeting, people not allowed to speak, decisions made against public opinion etc.
The size of government has grown to the point it no longer functions for the people. I think CAs might work but they would need authority to enact and not just advise.
What we really need is to get rid of career politicians who are experts in getting elected and nothing else. When living in a mansion, driven by a chauffeur and dining in 5 star restaurants they have no concept of living in the streets homeless. It's not the system that is at fault. It's the people in the system who have corrupted it beyond recognition with no accountability.
With today's communication network which didn't exist in 1800 elected officials have no excuse for not knowing public opinion . Therein lies the problem.
The constitution was written in plain language so that it didn't need"interpretation". Reading the declaration of independence most of the reasons for breaking away from England are present in America today. The Bill of rights was subverted by the Patriot act. Life liberty and the pursuit of happiness applies only to the wealthy. Until these problems are resolved nothing will change.
CAs would make an ideal advisory board for elected officials.
Many good points. Career politicians are an enormous problem. We need term limits. And we need publicly financed campaigns, and dark money out of politics, not that it will ever happen.
Look at any post apocalyptic movie. There is no dark money in politics, and the tenure of rulers are generally short. Sadly no public financing of politics in the Mad Max world.
A Mad Max world seems to be what 30% of the electorate wants. If I could reform government, in addition to term limits and publicly financed campaigns, I would like to see every candidate at every level pass a basic competency test. Perhaps it could be similar to an immigration test, with additional requirements in science and technology. I don't care about race, sexual orientation or skin color. I sure care about competency, though.
I think growing inequality is the Achilles heel of capitalism and will continue the current trend towards fascism. CA seems a step in the right direction. I agree that professional politicians are not serving most of their constituents effectively. Change is necessary and, in time, will come.
Thanks Toma. I agree that CAs aren't the answer to all problems. But they are a useful tool. Where they appear to work well is when they do have some real power and those in power do want to use them to help make decisions, not just PR. I'm sure if they are implemented widely in a country (US for example) some politicians will use them cynically just for PR, then ignore anything they say. They have to be given power and publicized, so if they come up with ideas that people like and they are ignored, there are electoral consequences.
CAs along with sortition for more government positions could be a nice 1,2 punch.
Agree that many governments are just two big to be managed that way, but if all of us had local CAs and sortition in our communities, we would be more informed and civic-minded - unlike today,
"Democracy" comes in many different forms. People are dissatisfied with representative democracy because the representatives are captured by special interests. Participatory democracy involves people and minimizes special interest - so the common good is optimized. Size matters. The smaller the group, the easier it is for all to participate. Relocalizing decisions is part of the process. There are a range of deliberative democracy methods available beyond CAs. The more we learn about these methods of decision making and use them, the more participatory and constructive our decisions will be. Google deliberative democracy, and use what you learn.
CAs aren't much different than town hall assemblies. Growing up in a small town I got to see first hand the political manipulation of even a tiny government. Special town meetings announced the day before the meeting, people not allowed to speak, decisions made against public opinion etc.
The size of government has grown to the point it no longer functions for the people. I think CAs might work but they would need authority to enact and not just advise.
What we really need is to get rid of career politicians who are experts in getting elected and nothing else. When living in a mansion, driven by a chauffeur and dining in 5 star restaurants they have no concept of living in the streets homeless. It's not the system that is at fault. It's the people in the system who have corrupted it beyond recognition with no accountability.
With today's communication network which didn't exist in 1800 elected officials have no excuse for not knowing public opinion . Therein lies the problem.
The constitution was written in plain language so that it didn't need"interpretation". Reading the declaration of independence most of the reasons for breaking away from England are present in America today. The Bill of rights was subverted by the Patriot act. Life liberty and the pursuit of happiness applies only to the wealthy. Until these problems are resolved nothing will change.
CAs would make an ideal advisory board for elected officials.
Many good points. Career politicians are an enormous problem. We need term limits. And we need publicly financed campaigns, and dark money out of politics, not that it will ever happen.
Look at any post apocalyptic movie. There is no dark money in politics, and the tenure of rulers are generally short. Sadly no public financing of politics in the Mad Max world.
A Mad Max world seems to be what 30% of the electorate wants. If I could reform government, in addition to term limits and publicly financed campaigns, I would like to see every candidate at every level pass a basic competency test. Perhaps it could be similar to an immigration test, with additional requirements in science and technology. I don't care about race, sexual orientation or skin color. I sure care about competency, though.
I think quite a few, maybe most, of our current crop of public servants would be out of a job.
Agreed.
I think growing inequality is the Achilles heel of capitalism and will continue the current trend towards fascism. CA seems a step in the right direction. I agree that professional politicians are not serving most of their constituents effectively. Change is necessary and, in time, will come.