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>use topical voting instead of figurehead voting. This is entirely feasible now with the internet. One of the primary assumptions which led to to the design of

by laotzu 11y ago

>use topical voting instead of figurehead voting. This is entirely feasible now with the internet. One of the primary assumptions which led to to the design of a representative republic which we have on paper was that it was impossible for everyone to assemble in order to vote on laws: >In a large society, inhabiting an extensive country, it is impossible that the whole should assemble to make laws. The first necessary step, then, is to depute power from the many to a few of the most wise and good. -John Adams, Thoughts on Government

apozem 11y ago
This is not feasible with the internet. Digital voting is a very, very bad idea. The long and short of arguments against online voting is that we've had several hundred years to figure out all the ways to cheat with paper votes and not nearly enough time to secure a similar system online. People spend billions on each presidential election- an online vote would become a target impossible to secure. http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=24488 http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=24488
- laotzu 11y ago
  The argument that an electric system is not feasible because it cannot be made 100% secure is null and self defeating if at the same time it is implicitly in support of a legacy paper system which is already exploited and cannot be made 100% secure. A better argument would be a cost-benefit analysis of both systems instead of defaulting to hypocritical defeatism. Security risks will always be a given. I would say, though, that it would not be feasible given the current state of internet architecture. Internet infrastructure would need to become much more universally distributed and control would need to be relinquished by the current "internet gatekeepers" (i.e. Time Warner, Comcast etc.) as Aaron Swartz called them. There is also the irony that in the US and elsewhere, the paper system is actively exploited and used as a means to make the electric system more insecure i.e. weakening/backdooring encryption. With any new system, there will be technical challenges and unknowns that will be sorted out(ish) after trial and error as was the case with the Articles of Confederation which failed but then lead to the current longest lasting constitutional government today.

by laotzu 11y ago

apozem 11y ago

This is not feasible with the internet. Digital voting is a very, very bad idea. The long and short of arguments against online voting is that we've had several hundred years to figure out all the ways to cheat with paper votes and not nearly enough time to secure a similar system online. People spend billions on each presidential election- an online vote would become a target impossible to secure. http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=24488 http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=24488

laotzu 11y ago
The argument that an electric system is not feasible because it cannot be made 100% secure is null and self defeating if at the same time it is implicitly in support of a legacy paper system which is already exploited and cannot be made 100% secure. A better argument would be a cost-benefit analysis of both systems instead of defaulting to hypocritical defeatism. Security risks will always be a given. I would say, though, that it would not be feasible given the current state of internet architecture. Internet infrastructure would need to become much more universally distributed and control would need to be relinquished by the current "internet gatekeepers" (i.e. Time Warner, Comcast etc.) as Aaron Swartz called them. There is also the irony that in the US and elsewhere, the paper system is actively exploited and used as a means to make the electric system more insecure i.e. weakening/backdooring encryption. With any new system, there will be technical challenges and unknowns that will be sorted out(ish) after trial and error as was the case with the Articles of Confederation which failed but then lead to the current longest lasting constitutional government today.