14 Comments

Erm, these are basically all democracies, just with different mechanics. That's good news, as far as I'm concerned.

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Before AGI, I like the idea of combining Direct and Liquid Democracy as software with real-time sentiment and ad hoc referendums. #6 and #9 are interesting ideas to be applied in any version.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_democracy

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Lottocracy, sortician, this Aeon magazine contribution to the discussion adds new fuel to a real fire. Not mentioned in the article was that Athenian democracy used sortician. Or did it? Your studies are as good as mine, but everybody be aware that there are a 3 million minority of this USA who would jump at the first instantiation of this. In thought, in thought experiments, we all are clever, and smart also( Chomsky is my reference there) and fed up, with the status quo, and agile and beautiful, if mostly that, by sortician, so let's tell each other if this is what we want?

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Thanks again for the writing prompt!! Loved coming up with something quirky for it. Really keen to get into reading some of the other ones here too :)

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author

I loved your quirky response!

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Yes, well not as democratic as a group of judges, they just ruled one-at-a time.

"Unlike ancient Israel, however, Tom would like to see these judges democratically elected via ranked-choice voting." Well yes, but that was just my long, long, introduction to your topic, a survey of all present-day voting systems (from the class I took on the topic, once upon a time) before getting to my own proposal about Ancient Israel. I was going to move most of (the whole of it but the last bit about Israel) my essay into a footnote, to avoid confusion as to what actually is my proposal, but it's too good to just virtually erase like that, plus you've already seen it!

I've been thinking about the "instant" part of proportional representation's instant runoff system. A big problem is we are choosing candidates we have no idea who they are. Slowing the whole run off system way down would give people a chance to assess the choices before them, with I think no loss of merit over the instantaneous version of the same.

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Thanks for sharing Elle, they're all fascinating ! Mine had a part two as well btw https://open.substack.com/pub/shonistar/p/if-we-had-direct-democracy-would?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=9fely

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I see, in the real Wikipedia that Grant Shapps has already tried it! Altering his own page... To hide unsavoury detail.

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We don’t necessarily need a new form of government. We need our current government to follow the constitution. Term limits are a start. The elimination of lobbyists would go a long way. Anyone who worked in government can’t then work for a corporation and go back to lobby the government. The corporate-government revolving door is a huge problem. The government can’t serve two masters. Either it serves the people, as was designed, or it serves corporate interests. It can’t do both.

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Hear, hear

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Apr 12Liked by Elle Griffin

Interesting ideas! I think the next 5-10 years in the USA may usher in a new form of government, similar to the modernization of the representative republic that took place around 220 years ago in the same country when it was new. Should our current institutions adapt to the new needs of our diverse and polarized culture, this innovation might be delayed. It will be interesting to watch either way.

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Apr 12Liked by Elle Griffin

Queuing up some nice reading!

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Likewise!

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