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> it leads to tyranny of the majority This is the overall design.

joquarky 6y ago
Wouldn't that just be direct democracy with extra steps?
jfengel 6y ago
The design incorporates the idea that we're going to behave with some sense of compassion and justice. There are, famously, four boxes of liberty[1], and if the majority uses the first three to the detriment of the minority, we'll find ourselves the target of the fourth. So out of simple self interest it behooves us not to just say "the status quo should be hard to change". When we see an injustice, we should fight to change it, even when it's not to our own immediate advantage. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_boxes_of_liberty https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_boxes_of_liberty
brobdingnagians 6y ago
The Federalist Papers #10 [1] deals with this. The original design was made very different and was intended to blunt the force of tyranny by majority by splitting power centers. One major issue is that over the centuries, the system was changed to be like what Fed #10 warned about. It is an amazing read, but the things that stand out to me are these. 1. Have diffuse/decentralized power centers to make it harder for special interest groups to gain power and control things. The last two centuries have had a tendency to move power from states to federal government; and from Congress to the President. So the balance of power has centralized. 2. Avoid a direct democracy because they tend to get subjected to demagogues. The direct election of senators was a major turning point in helping centralize power; since states became more and more irrelevant. I am always impressed by how much Madison understood the nuances of political power and tyranny. [1] https://billofrightsinstitute.org/founding-documents/primary-source-documents/the-federalist-papers/federalist-papers-no-10/ https://billofrightsinstitute.org/founding-documents/primary...

Wouldn't that just be direct democracy with extra steps?

The design incorporates the idea that we're going to behave with some sense of compassion and justice. There are, famously, four boxes of liberty[1], and if the majority uses the first three to the detriment of the minority, we'll find ourselves the target of the fourth. So out of simple self interest it behooves us not to just say "the status quo should be hard to change". When we see an injustice, we should fight to change it, even when it's not to our own immediate advantage. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_boxes_of_liberty https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_boxes_of_liberty

brobdingnagians 6y ago

The Federalist Papers #10 [1] deals with this. The original design was made very different and was intended to blunt the force of tyranny by majority by splitting power centers. One major issue is that over the centuries, the system was changed to be like what Fed #10 warned about. It is an amazing read, but the things that stand out to me are these. 1. Have diffuse/decentralized power centers to make it harder for special interest groups to gain power and control things. The last two centuries have had a tendency to move power from states to federal government; and from Congress to the President. So the balance of power has centralized. 2. Avoid a direct democracy because they tend to get subjected to demagogues. The direct election of senators was a major turning point in helping centralize power; since states became more and more irrelevant. I am always impressed by how much Madison understood the nuances of political power and tyranny. [1] https://billofrightsinstitute.org/founding-documents/primary-source-documents/the-federalist-papers/federalist-papers-no-10/ https://billofrightsinstitute.org/founding-documents/primary...