Politics: Can and should it be changed

I recently posted this as a reply to another poster in this thread, but wanted to create another thread solely on this post to see how others feel about it, and if others have anything to add to it. Let's discuss solutions for our currently corrupt and inadequate political system. All ideas are welcome and encouraged, and will be read and replied to in a respectable manner.

"I respect your intentions to alert people about the damage caused from the unnecessary strict partisanship and attachment to party lines. The best way to show them this is by equally holding both sides accountable to the same rigorous criticism and pointing out there moderate, corrupt behavior. However, without a solution you are merely preaching to the choir brother, and people will continue to choose sides.

Here is a few things you may want to consider when thinking about solutions:

The two most popular styles of Governance in the West come from Ancient Greeks; Athenian Democracy and Plato's Republic. All other forms of Governance; Communism, Socialism, Totalitarism, Fascism... are reactionaries to these two ideologies.

The word Democracy comes from the Greek words of "Demos" (meaning "People" or aka "Mob") and "Kratos" (meaning "Force" or "Power"). This ideology had a short lived span in Athens until it was ultimately overrun and replaced with a diluted form of Plato's idea of the Republic. Critics often referred to this ideology (Democracy) as "The rule of the mob" and was frowned upon because it placed power in the hands of the 'ignoble', 'corrupt', and generally uneducated class of people. Critics, mostly the scholars, warned against this ideology by saying it would be giving poor and uneducated people power over their betters and this seemed a reversal of the proper, rational order of society. For them the demos in democracy meant not the whole people, but the people as opposed to the elite. Instead of seeing it as a fair system under which 'everyone' has equal rights, they saw it as the numerically preponderant poor tyrannizing over the rich. They thought that it would eventually destabilize the state through internal conflict until the point the state would be left vulnerable to outside attack, which it ultimately was. Socrates was one of these beloved critics and after he was executed for his beliefs, Democracy was forever stained by his blood and not soon there after Plato's Republic came into play.

Plato's Republic was set upon the belief that only the most noble, intelligent, and wise men should have authority to dictate policy. He labeled these men as the "Guardians" and said they should be found by watching over the elite (educated) class and picking out only the men who had led completely virtuous and noble lives, those who showed no signs of corruptness, greed or hatred. He proposed that they should not be paid hefty wages and that they should live amongst the people, serving out their entire life inside of governance without the option to pursue other careers. His main argument was that everybody in society had an equally important role to play; from the carpenters, to the blacksmiths, to the farmers, to the "Guardians", and if everybody focuses solely on their job in a noble and virtuous manner, than society would remain healthy and would continue to progress. However, some may say his ideas were too far fetched and not probable enough, and ultimately this showed to be true as his ideology was never completely established in the manner he intended. Instead it turned into more of an monarchial empire, far from what he described. Later on, others such as Machiavelli refurbished the idea of a Republic in a more practical form.

Both of these ideologies molded our current political ideology in the United States. Essentially it is like a synthesis between the two, with a few more modern ideals added on. I think the founding fathers did a good job in creating a better system, especially compared to the old world systems of europe at the time, although there are certain aspects of both ideologies that I feel should be more decisively implemented now days, especially from Plato's Republic. Politicians should not be able to leave office and resort to higher paying jobs, this in my eyes obviously breeds corruption. Also they should not be giving luxurious homes to live in, they should live amongst the people, this ensures they are 'in-touch' with 'reality'. They also should be held to a higher level of scrutiny and oversight to ensure they are truly noble and virtuous people, instead of the narcissistic and power hungry people we have in office today.

But ultimately we the people must understand that our societies condition is mostly the result of our own actions and in-actions, not so much theirs, although there actions and in-actions do have some effect upon us. If society is corrupt, greedy, unequal, and generally sick, then it is a direct reflection of our own doings, the system is merely sustaining these things and preventing them from changing. In conclusion, these problems are the problems of the Human Mind as a whole, across the board, in every nation, class, race, and area of the world. Until we deal with these problems on that level, then corruption, greed, hatred, inequality and war will continue. To the contrary, until every human being has access to the basic needs of water, food, shelter, security (physical and economical), these problems of the Human Mind cannot be properly addressed and fixed. This LINK (Maslows Hierarchy of Needs) describes this process of reform in further detail.."

Discuss...

1. Replace all this rote memorization with critical thinking in our schools.
2. Teach, and vehemently adhere to, the idea that we're all different but equal. Celebrate the differences, but ultimately point out that these differences are merely variations of one trait.
3. Try to understand that we as a species will ultimately succeed or fail together.
4. Time and time again in history, one person made all the difference; one spark set the whole world ablaze. AKA every single one of us counts; learn this and live this.
5. We will never know the whole truth about a great many things. It's time to accept this and learn to be okay with it.
6. Personally, I believe that a tough-love socialism is ultimately the way to do things. By tough-love, I mean that i believe that societal safety nets are imperative, but I also believe that active monitoring to watch for fraud is just as important.
7. As for politicians, a decently educated populace can effectively choose them, I think, so I do believe in a form of democracy. But I believe in strict term limits and a modest (but not poorly) salary.

Originally posted by gnosticquasar
1. Replace all this rote memorization with critical thinking in our schools.
2. Teach, and vehemently adhere to, the idea that we're all different but equal. Celebrate the differences, but ultimately point out that these differences are merely variations of one trait.
3. Try to understand that we as a species will ultimately succeed or fail together.
4. Time and time again in history, one person made all the difference; one spark set the whole world ablaze. AKA every single one of us counts; learn this and live this.
5. We will never know the whole truth about a great many things. It's time to accept this and learn to be okay with it.
6. Personally, I believe that a tough-love socialism is ultimately the way to do things. By tough-love, I mean that i believe that societal safety nets are imperative, but I also believe that active monitoring to watch for fraud is just as important.
7. As for politicians, a decently educated populace can effectively choose them, I think, so I do believe in a form of democracy. But I believe in strict term limits and a modest (but not poorly) salary.

1. Agree
2. Agree
3. Agree
4. Somewhat agree, one person gets the credit, but it takes many to make it happen.
5. Agree
6. Not sure about "tough-love socialism", maybe you could explain further how that would work.
7. Strongly agree

Thanks, now how do we get there?