> Do we want the statistical average of us to create laws that stick around for years? People are judged everyday by their "statistical average" with consequen

> Do we want the statistical average of us to create laws that stick around for years? People are judged everyday by their "statistical average" with consequences that can stick around for many years (long jail terms) or be permanent (death sentences). While the criminal jury system is not perfect, it appears vastly more functional than Congress at present. The article also mentions Aristotle, and he identified three dimensions of discourse: logos, ethos and pathos. While elected congressmen may be a little better at logic (it's not like they're all rocket scientists), they appear to be quite deficient in ethics and not similar enough to the average constituent to truly empathize. Losing a bit of logos for big increases in ethos and pathos seems like a pretty good deal to me. > Also, this would put enormous power in the hands of lobbyists Not really, their main weapon are campaign contributions.