3 ms·

I think there would need to be some minimal filter on those who would govern. Age, for one, but maybe also a high school diploma or equivalent and a "citizenshi

I think there would need to be some minimal filter on those who would govern. Age, for one, but maybe also a high school diploma or equivalent and a "citizenship test" that everyone would have to pass to graduate high school.

feborges 9y ago
In many countries you just need to write-read to be able to run for a gov position.
- eli 9y ago
  America has a not so great history with written tests used as anti-democratic weapons.
logicchains 9y ago
China has something like this: bureaucrats have to pass the civil service exam, which is like a souped up IQ/SAT style test. The former president, Hu Jintao, apparently had a photographic memory. Make of that what you will.
- opportune 9y ago
  I would like this, but the anti-SAT / whiteboarding group would complain about a system like this to no end. And to be fair, there is a huge potential for a system like this to be abused or to codify massive inequality in representation across racial / socio-economic lines. So complaints would definitely not be without merit. Usually additional barriers to participate in government only end up hurting those who are most marginalized already, even if they are supposedly well-intentioned. So while a system like this might sound good to your typical hacker news browser, consider that a system like this would also mostly exclude poor and uneducated people from government even more than they are already
  - samirillian 9y ago
    Yeah, I mean, it's really hard to come up with a solution to one problem that doesn't create a new one. I guess I am kind of imagining a system of mandarins. Perhaps the requirement is that you attend public school, where passing the course is required for graduation. And so you cut out HS dropouts but you also cut out private and charter school kids.

3 ms·

I think there would need to be some minimal filter on those who would govern. Age, for one, but maybe also a high school diploma or equivalent and a "citizenshi

by samirillian 9y ago

feborges 9y ago
In many countries you just need to write-read to be able to run for a gov position.
- eli 9y ago
  America has a not so great history with written tests used as anti-democratic weapons.
logicchains 9y ago
China has something like this: bureaucrats have to pass the civil service exam, which is like a souped up IQ/SAT style test. The former president, Hu Jintao, apparently had a photographic memory. Make of that what you will.
- opportune 9y ago
  I would like this, but the anti-SAT / whiteboarding group would complain about a system like this to no end. And to be fair, there is a huge potential for a system like this to be abused or to codify massive inequality in representation across racial / socio-economic lines. So complaints would definitely not be without merit. Usually additional barriers to participate in government only end up hurting those who are most marginalized already, even if they are supposedly well-intentioned. So while a system like this might sound good to your typical hacker news browser, consider that a system like this would also mostly exclude poor and uneducated people from government even more than they are already
  - samirillian 9y ago
    Yeah, I mean, it's really hard to come up with a solution to one problem that doesn't create a new one. I guess I am kind of imagining a system of mandarins. Perhaps the requirement is that you attend public school, where passing the course is required for graduation. And so you cut out HS dropouts but you also cut out private and charter school kids.