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“There ought to be some feedback loop that forces the public sector to improve itself.” There is. We live in a democracy. Work to elect better and more account

“There ought to be some feedback loop that forces the public sector to improve itself.” There is. We live in a democracy. Work to elect better and more accountable officials. If none exist, consider running yourself.

itake 5y ago
> If none exist, consider running yourself. Setting expectations of "don't like it? Well quit your job, give up 12 mo of your life to campaign and fix it yourself!" is not healthy for our society.
- optimiz3 5y ago
  The recursion in how one would effect change like this amuses me. But this is by design since policy affects all.
- throwaway2048 5y ago
  at a certain level, somebody has to think like that, otherwise nobody except power hungry psychopaths would be in politics. Direct action matters, and to dismiss it as "not my responsibility" is shirking the entire point of democracy.
- mondoshawan 5y ago
  And yet, this is how our system works. We all need to participate and realize that politics is not a career -- it is part of living in such a system, and a part of our responsibility as citizens. The only way we are going to fix things is if we fix it ourselves. I have tried in the past as well. Political apathy is a very real, very dangerous vulnerability in our system of government, and is being exploited all the time.
  - Jeff_Brown 5y ago
    > The only way we are going to fix things is if we fix it ourselves. The word "we" is pulling a lot of weight in that statement. All politics suffers a free rider problem. We'll fix it if we fix it, sure, but I don't have to be part of that.
- simion314 5y ago
  Could you start small? if you live in a smaller city/village do you need to quit your job for 1 year to attempt to get a sit in the council?
  - Jeff_Brown 5y ago
    Pressuring your representatives to do something about it, and helping others get mad about it too, and encouraging them to encourage their representatives likewise, is probably the most bottom-up response possible. It can do enormous good, but of course can also go nowhere.
yossarian1408 5y ago
It seems a fatal flaw of a system of government where my liberty might be at stake merely due to apathy of the citizenry. And it seems so much easier to excite the passions of a mob, than to engage the rational capacity of your fellow countrymen. Government was created by man. It's a good idea that where we can improve them mechanically, we should strive to do so. Same as is done for everything else created by man.

itake 5y ago

> If none exist, consider running yourself. Setting expectations of "don't like it? Well quit your job, give up 12 mo of your life to campaign and fix it yourself!" is not healthy for our society.

optimiz3 5y ago
The recursion in how one would effect change like this amuses me. But this is by design since policy affects all.
throwaway2048 5y ago
at a certain level, somebody has to think like that, otherwise nobody except power hungry psychopaths would be in politics. Direct action matters, and to dismiss it as "not my responsibility" is shirking the entire point of democracy.
mondoshawan 5y ago
And yet, this is how our system works. We all need to participate and realize that politics is not a career -- it is part of living in such a system, and a part of our responsibility as citizens. The only way we are going to fix things is if we fix it ourselves. I have tried in the past as well. Political apathy is a very real, very dangerous vulnerability in our system of government, and is being exploited all the time.
- Jeff_Brown 5y ago
  > The only way we are going to fix things is if we fix it ourselves. The word "we" is pulling a lot of weight in that statement. All politics suffers a free rider problem. We'll fix it if we fix it, sure, but I don't have to be part of that.
simion314 5y ago
Could you start small? if you live in a smaller city/village do you need to quit your job for 1 year to attempt to get a sit in the council?
- Jeff_Brown 5y ago
  Pressuring your representatives to do something about it, and helping others get mad about it too, and encouraging them to encourage their representatives likewise, is probably the most bottom-up response possible. It can do enormous good, but of course can also go nowhere.

yossarian1408 5y ago

It seems a fatal flaw of a system of government where my liberty might be at stake merely due to apathy of the citizenry. And it seems so much easier to excite the passions of a mob, than to engage the rational capacity of your fellow countrymen. Government was created by man. It's a good idea that where we can improve them mechanically, we should strive to do so. Same as is done for everything else created by man.