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As with most modern societal changes, I don't think this one is going to come down to "collective will." The massive scale of the problem limits meaningful acti

As with most modern societal changes, I don't think this one is going to come down to "collective will." The massive scale of the problem limits meaningful actions to those that have a similarly massive scale of response. Only those in power can enact those. Elect people who care. There are a lot of them.

have_faith 5y ago
What if people choose to elect those that don't?
- tony_cannistra 5y ago
  You're living in that world right now.
- mistermann 5y ago
  Or if those that claim to care do not actually, or if the current design of democracy is such that it isn't up to the task of getting the right people elected, &/or passing the right legislation. Betting so many chips on this one institution seems like not a great idea, especially since it is the one that has been driving the bus that got us to this location.
  - rootusrootus 5y ago
    > if the current design of democracy is such that it isn't up to the task of getting the right people elected, &/or passing the right legislation Before we can design a better democracy, we will need a better metric on what 'right' means.
    - mistermann 5y ago
      I don't see how that would necessarily be a constraint on proceeding with a design, although I would very much support that sort of functionality (and many others) being part of a sophisticated democracy platform that is more suited for the much more complex world we live in today. For example, a political candidate could have a profile, and voters would be able to get a faster and better idea for what type of a person they really are, as opposed to the meme-war-based approach we currently have. How one would go about designing a workflow for what information does and does not get included would be a complicated but fun exercise, and perhaps the public could learn a few things about abstract thinking if the followed along as the project moved forward. What domains are there other than politics where hardly anything materially important is upgraded over time as new capabilities and technology become available, and new problems arise? That hardly anyone seems to question (or is able/willing to even consider) whether the design of our democracy is remotely optimal suggests to me that the public has been subjected to some effective "marketing".
colinmhayes 5y ago
> Elect people who care. The people not doing this is what OP means by "not having the collective will."

have_faith 5y ago

What if people choose to elect those that don't?

tony_cannistra 5y ago
You're living in that world right now.
mistermann 5y ago
Or if those that claim to care do not actually, or if the current design of democracy is such that it isn't up to the task of getting the right people elected, &/or passing the right legislation. Betting so many chips on this one institution seems like not a great idea, especially since it is the one that has been driving the bus that got us to this location.
- rootusrootus 5y ago
  > if the current design of democracy is such that it isn't up to the task of getting the right people elected, &/or passing the right legislation Before we can design a better democracy, we will need a better metric on what 'right' means.
  - mistermann 5y ago
    I don't see how that would necessarily be a constraint on proceeding with a design, although I would very much support that sort of functionality (and many others) being part of a sophisticated democracy platform that is more suited for the much more complex world we live in today. For example, a political candidate could have a profile, and voters would be able to get a faster and better idea for what type of a person they really are, as opposed to the meme-war-based approach we currently have. How one would go about designing a workflow for what information does and does not get included would be a complicated but fun exercise, and perhaps the public could learn a few things about abstract thinking if the followed along as the project moved forward. What domains are there other than politics where hardly anything materially important is upgraded over time as new capabilities and technology become available, and new problems arise? That hardly anyone seems to question (or is able/willing to even consider) whether the design of our democracy is remotely optimal suggests to me that the public has been subjected to some effective "marketing".

colinmhayes 5y ago

> Elect people who care. The people not doing this is what OP means by "not having the collective will."