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I like the solution from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Elect some random person as president of the galaxy, but don't tell him about it. Just have conversat
by m12k 5y ago
I like the solution from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Elect some random person as president of the galaxy, but don't tell him about it. Just have conversations with him to find out what he thinks about things, but don't let him know that you actually run the galaxy based on these conversations. If power corrupts, make it impossible to seek power, and don't let the person that wields it know that they have it.
- justinclift 5y agoThat could go seriously badly if the random person happened to have extreme views. :/
- 46756e 5y agoAlso it just moves the problem one person down the line. So the new most powerful position is the person that knows who runs the galaxy and talks to her/him. That person can make up things or sway the ruler. If you have many people, you now just have an oligarchy.
- bluejekyll 5y agoThis is pretty much how the Shogunate in Japan worked. Once a single war lord controls the “security” of the Emperor, they then wield power and justify all of there actions based on sole access to the Emperor.
- elliekelly 5y agoThis reminds me of the “Goldilocks” strategy the DoD supposedly uses when presenting a President with a menu of military options: 1. Very extreme militaristic response that will surely cause many deaths. Clearly unacceptable. 2. Very weak bordering on non-existent response. Clearly unacceptable. 3. What pentagon has already decided to do. Clearly the “only” viable option.
- pram 5y agoThis isn’t correct iirc. Zaphod definitely knew he was president. The government didn’t consult him about anything, he was just a distraction.
- m12k 5y agoI wasn't talking about Zaphod. https://hitchhikers.fandom.com/wiki/Ruler_of_the_Universe https://hitchhikers.fandom.com/wiki/Ruler_of_the_Universe