tldr: You might as well try to "fix" VMS. I find it a little difficult to think seriously about "fixing democracy" when on the same day I see something like th

tldr: You might as well try to "fix" VMS. I find it a little difficult to think seriously about "fixing democracy" when on the same day I see something like this: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/14/opinion/free-the-fda.html http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/14/opinion/free-the-fda.html "The precedent risks placing the real power for drug approval not just with a cabinet secretary, but with the White House itself. The only solution, then, is to make the F.D.A. truly independent." In other words, it's an essential aspect of American democracy that your elected officials have no actual power at all. Presumably Prof. Lessig reads the NYT? Because frankly, if elected politicians have no actual authority, and this is a feature rather than a bug - I'm struggling to figure out why we should care so much whether or not they're on all on the take. I'm not disputing that they're all on the take. The worst part is that if you make a political office symbolic in reality, its professional occupants rapidly grow entirely incapable of exercising actual power and become, basically, actors - worthless celebrities. You're selecting for Rick Perry and you'll get Rick Perry.