6 ms·

Gee, it's almost like the general population can't be trusted to reliably sort out the BS and make informed decisions. I guess it's just too bad that no one ev

by Crespyl 10y ago

Gee, it's almost like the general population can't be trusted to reliably sort out the BS and make informed decisions. I guess it's just too bad that no one ever thought of some alternative to pure democracy, like electing a handful of trusted individuals to do the work as a full-time job and represent our interests. We could call it a "Republic" or something. Too bad nobody ever thought of that.

chc 10y ago
Republics don't really solve the problem of the people making poor decisions based on bad information. They just introduce a layer of indirection, punting the problem to the election of the "handful of trusted individuals." In order to truly get around the problem of misinformed voters, we'd need a metarepublic to determine which individuals can be trusted to represent our interests in the republic — and then it's turtles all the way down.
- alxndr 10y ago
  > we'd need a metarepublic to determine which individuals can be trusted to represent our interests in the republic Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this is Hamilton's argument for having Electors cast the actual ballots for President without necessarily being beholden to how their state voted. >Hamilton viewed the system as superior to direct popular election. First, he recognized, the "sense of the people should operate in the choice", and would through the election of the electors to the Electoral College. Second, the electors would be: > "men most capable of analyzing the qualities adapted to the station and acting under circumstances favorable to deliberation, and to a judicious combination of all the reasons and inducements which were proper to govern their choice." >Such men would be "most likely to have the information and discernment" to make a good choice, and avoid the election of anyone "not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federalist_No._68#Hamilton.27s_understanding_of_the_Electoral_College https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federalist_No._68#Hamilton.27s...
astrodust 10y ago
The general public has other priorities than trying to get to the bottom of every story they've heard. Democracy only functions properly when the electorate is well informed, that is being fed a steady diet of actual facts, figures, and editorial that puts it in perspective without heavily distorting the truth. Whatever form your democracy takes, "Republic" or otherwise, it depends on meaningful discussion and debate, not the current climate where one side refuses to engage with the other, or facts in general. There are many different lenses to view the world through, but it's like these major media outlets aren't even interested in our world and instead create one that fits their views, then pretend to live in it. "Millions of illegals voting" is just one example of this.
dang 10y ago
Please don't introduce snark into an already divisive topic.

by Crespyl 10y ago

chc 10y ago

Republics don't really solve the problem of the people making poor decisions based on bad information. They just introduce a layer of indirection, punting the problem to the election of the "handful of trusted individuals." In order to truly get around the problem of misinformed voters, we'd need a metarepublic to determine which individuals can be trusted to represent our interests in the republic — and then it's turtles all the way down.

alxndr 10y ago
> we'd need a metarepublic to determine which individuals can be trusted to represent our interests in the republic Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this is Hamilton's argument for having Electors cast the actual ballots for President without necessarily being beholden to how their state voted. >Hamilton viewed the system as superior to direct popular election. First, he recognized, the "sense of the people should operate in the choice", and would through the election of the electors to the Electoral College. Second, the electors would be: > "men most capable of analyzing the qualities adapted to the station and acting under circumstances favorable to deliberation, and to a judicious combination of all the reasons and inducements which were proper to govern their choice." >Such men would be "most likely to have the information and discernment" to make a good choice, and avoid the election of anyone "not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federalist_No._68#Hamilton.27s_understanding_of_the_Electoral_College https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federalist_No._68#Hamilton.27s...

astrodust 10y ago

The general public has other priorities than trying to get to the bottom of every story they've heard. Democracy only functions properly when the electorate is well informed, that is being fed a steady diet of actual facts, figures, and editorial that puts it in perspective without heavily distorting the truth. Whatever form your democracy takes, "Republic" or otherwise, it depends on meaningful discussion and debate, not the current climate where one side refuses to engage with the other, or facts in general. There are many different lenses to view the world through, but it's like these major media outlets aren't even interested in our world and instead create one that fits their views, then pretend to live in it. "Millions of illegals voting" is just one example of this.

dang 10y ago

Please don't introduce snark into an already divisive topic.