Maybe it's just a different local optimum. When the Swiss Republic was instated in 1848, the founders drew upon the old tradition of direct democracy, now on a

Maybe it's just a different local optimum. When the Swiss Republic was instated in 1848, the founders drew upon the old tradition of direct democracy, now on a national level. Swiss people are typically very weary of big organisations, which is why we aren't in the EU for one - the federal Republic had to overcome this problem by basically installing checks-and-balances on crack (no one person having executive power alone, two chambers, everything can be overruled by people's votes on every level of the administration). So it basically started with a profound mistrust, but I think through these instruments people over the generations have come to trust the system quite a lot - at least so much that the government has been allowed to do quite a few relatively progressive projects even when challenged by the people's vote.