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"As soon as the entire adult population had been educated to the limits of its intellectual ability (and sometimes, alas, beyond) genuine democracy became possi

"As soon as the entire adult population had been educated to the limits of its intellectual ability (and sometimes, alas, beyond) genuine democracy became possible... Thereafter, selecting a head of state was relatively unimportant. Once it was universally accepted that anyone who deliberately aimed at the job should be automatically disqualified, almost any system would serve equally well, and a lottery was the simplest procedure." - Arthur C. Clarke, The Songs of Distant Earth

mdp2021 5y ago
> As soon as the entire adult population had been educated to the limits of its intellectual ability Not the case. > Thereafter, selecting a head of state was relatively unimportant Economists giving medical advice because they have five minutes to spare. Even when the first statement will come to mean that all the population will have all of the degrees, there will still be differences in education, traits, talent, and especially experience, that will make the individuals subjectable to ranking in multiple dimensions. -- Edit: indicate to me a Country or a local administration in which the population, in late 2021, is such that randomized appointment to administration could make little difference to proper selection, and I will move there and be forever grateful.