A Way to Change The World...Random Elections To Office

So in my opinion, political power is a burden. Its hard to speak the thoughts and minds of thousands or millions of people as a "representative". To balance the needs of the country, the individual and the collective, is a tough, tough task. This is why George Washington quit after two terms...power is a burden, not a privlidge.

But we've turned power into a privlidge. It's an honor to be elected to office, not a burden. Consequently, the rich and evil have overtaken politics and its become so dismal that these people (who are rich by the way) are bankrupting the country...how does that work? How can these people be so good with their personal finances but screw up royal when its tax money? Answer: they're not stupid, theyre corrupt...sometimes both.

My solution: positions of power get randomly elected from the population. This means, that yes, fat Joe the braindead hick is going to have a seat in power. This means that the guy from high school you hated is going to have a seat in power. But it also means that YOU might have a position in power. This is IMPOSSIBLE in todays "elections" (and I use that word loosely.)

Why not? The systems already in tatters, perhaps electing the "best and brightest" has never worked. War, famine, poverty, hierarchy- these are inherent in a system where one group of people controls another. To literally democratize power ensures that no group can control another and that all voices are heard. Why are we more worried that Joe the hick is going to be elected over another rich, snobby Yale graduate? Joe the hick might not be smart but he is probably more like you and I than Al Gore or GW or Obama. He's probably got a better moral compass too.

Besides, the rich keep parading these candidates in front of us that we think represent us. GW - for the right, Obama for the left, Palin and Bachmann for the soccer moms, etc, etc. They're putting up fake people like us. So why not put in the real people like us...us.

Discuss.

reply to post by doctornamtab


Yeah I heard of China doing that once. They picked some random guy who turned out to be a farmer to be given this position of power (of course it was something some-what small like a mayor's position I think). The farmer originally refused the offer, but ended up taking it. Basically, the town ended up prospering because the guy just took it like a normal job. He didn't really want the power, so he just listened to what the people wanted and got the job done. Then of course he didn't even run for the next term, because he still didn't really feel the need for power even though he had done well using it.

Just goes to show that power should be a job, not a career, and should only be given to those who don't seek it.

i got a better idea...

"Demarchy (or lottocracy) is a form of government in which the state is governed by randomly selected decision makers who have been selected by sortition (lot) from a broadly inclusive pool of eligible citizens. These groups, sometimes termed "policy juries", "citizens' juries", or "consensus conferences", deliberately make decisions about public policies in much the same way that juries decide criminal cases.

Demarchy, in theory, could overcome some of the functional problems of conventional representative democracy, which is widely subject to manipulation by special interests and a division between professional policymakers (politicians and lobbyists) vs. a largely passive, uninvolved and often uninformed electorate. According to Australian philosopher John Burnheim, random selection of policymakers would make it easier for everyday citizens to meaningfully participate, and harder for special interests to corrupt the process."

source: wiki..i know, i know.


DOH! i knew i should have read the rest of your post.....sorry! great minds think alike!

yeah i fell in love with demarchy along time ago.. they used it during the french revolution straight afterwards, great stuff!

Think about the people you work with and what would happen if this system was used to run the business.
Not a pretty thought.

Originally posted by choppedbrisket
Think about the people you work with and what would happen if this system was used to run the business.
Not a pretty thought.

I know. Theyd never move jobs overseas, value people over profits, give higher pay, more days off, employees would feel valued and a part of something, theyd work harder, make decisions as a group and manage themselves like adults instead of being treated like children in timeout.

Yeah, terrible, I know.

I think it would be interesting, rather than having elections, to see something similar to jury duty. You get selected and you must go serve, no excuses. You get paid $5 a day and you are sequestered for the duration of your service.

That's a stupid idea.

What if they selected a person like me? Would you really want me to be your leader?

reply to post by doctornamtab


www.abovetopsecret.com...

Probably could have added your entire thread into my thread which was posted a few days ago.....

reply to post by Chrisfishenstein


Thats an interesting idea.

I feel like the more random the better. Not everyone will be a great senator but not every senator is a great senator now. If we have random lottery elections at least we will have people like us in office, people too poor to run for office, people who value the things we value.

But taking the sports metaphor you started with: itd be like a pick up basketball game...some people suck, some are lazy, some are hardworking and some are naturally talented for it. Everyone cooperates to get the job done. It works.

But at the end of the game, we all go back to real life. Career politicians, like career ballers, lose touch with reality and thus their ability to jusdo their job well comes into serious question.

Great idea though.

There should be a TV show called Americas Got Leaders! It would be like Americas Got Talent. Each TV show narrows down who we all like the best. ("Like" as in, we are confident they aren't going to be greedy sociopathic intraspecies predators). Then at the end of the season series, we all phone or text in, with our votes.

I'M SERIOUS.

Originally posted by simone50m
There should be a TV show called Americas Got Leaders! It would be like Americas Got Talent. Each TV show narrows down who we all like the best. ("Like" as in, we are confident they aren't going to be greedy sociopathic intraspecies predators). Then at the end of the season series, we all phone or text in, with our votes.

I'M SERIOUS.

Ha thats great. And in my opinion its a lot more honest, equal and democratic than our current "voting" system. Voting between two super rich people who are corrupted by money and power is not really a choice at all.

We need poor people in office. Who else knows how to survive in the face of massive, soul crushing debt?