- [T]he inescapable conclusion is that there is something wrong with modern democracies: namely, that their institutions are no longer effective at performing their essential function of replacing “bad or incompetent rulers” bloodlessly, when that needs to be done.
The article linked to this, I just wanted to say that it's worth the read... elementary, but satisfying.
It's almost exactly the same wording. Dunno how I missed that, but I've just realized that even with something as succinct as a TED talk, I prefer a written article. Perhaps because more appeals to my humanity are removed and I can evaluate the logic of an idea dispassionately.
1. If this "Re-Invent Democracy Foundation" accomplishes everything the article promises, it could revolutionise political systems worldwide. That said, 2. Those are some pretty big promises; I'm skeptical of their validity. One of my main issues is: 3. What kind of advertising plan does the RIDF have? It's fine to introduce this awesome, transformative service, but it doesn't change a damn thing unless people really use it. N.B. Thus far I've just read the article, I've got the foundation and project websites Pocketed for tomorrow.
Yeah, I'm not sure if this is a serious proposal or not. I only posted it, because I find it instructive to read outside-the-box ideas when thinking about what a better world might look like. They're valuable in some ways, even if the point isn't really to implement them. There's an economic theory call the Theory of Second Bests that, as the name suggests, has to do with ideas that aren't optimal but are socially and politically workable. The caveat is that in order to think of a workable second best, we need to think about an idealized best case scenario. To me, that's the importance of idealistic thinking. But, we certainly don't live in an ideal world, and eventually we need pragmatic solutions. My fear is that the political situation in the US is only solvable through a Constitutional Convention. But even then, I'm sure that moneyed interests would have a strong hand in deciding who gets input into the new articles. All that said, the US has gone through significant changes in political structure several times in the past without conventions, so anything is possible.If this "Re-Invent Democracy Foundation" accomplishes everything the article promises, it could revolutionise political systems worldwide.