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We certainly can't trust the government to either, depending on which government it is. Will the government - generally the most dangerous entity in a country,

We certainly can't trust the government to either, depending on which government it is. Will the government - generally the most dangerous entity in a country, as it has the military - start by regulating itself?

spaceribs 3y ago
The most dangerous entity in a democratic country is a widespread belief that voting doesn't work.
- int_19h 3y ago
  Voting works in a sense that when society is in a "somebody ought to do something about it!" panic mode over some issue, it can make "something" happen. It is very rare for that to actually translate to good policy, though. If you're lucky, best case, you get a crutch that treats some of the symptoms. Worst case, you get a knee-jerk reaction that makes everything worse.
- robertlagrant 3y ago
  > The most dangerous entity in a democratic country is a widespread belief that voting doesn't work. I don't know that that's true. Voting is so low resolution a signal, between two options, on 10000 issues, that it is pretty meaningless in terms of policy. You could say it works in the sense that your team gets in, though.
  - spaceribs 3y ago
    That's certainly a critique of voting systems, but there are plenty of ways to increase the resolution of that signal.
    - robertlagrant 3y ago
      Perhaps, but equally populations are growing, so each person's signal gets less and less valuable over time. Democracies birthed in places with a high sense of buy-in and relatively few people voting would've felt very different to how things feel today, and I don't know how many ways there are to rectify that.
lotsoweiners 3y ago
I work for the government, not federal but local. While I certainly don’t trust any level of the government I certainly trust them more than I trust Microsoft, Open AI, or any other SV billionaires or wanna be billionaires.
- robertlagrant 3y ago
  Not to worry you, but Microsoft are hyper embedded all throughout your government :)

spaceribs 3y ago

The most dangerous entity in a democratic country is a widespread belief that voting doesn't work.

int_19h 3y ago
Voting works in a sense that when society is in a "somebody ought to do something about it!" panic mode over some issue, it can make "something" happen. It is very rare for that to actually translate to good policy, though. If you're lucky, best case, you get a crutch that treats some of the symptoms. Worst case, you get a knee-jerk reaction that makes everything worse.
robertlagrant 3y ago
> The most dangerous entity in a democratic country is a widespread belief that voting doesn't work. I don't know that that's true. Voting is so low resolution a signal, between two options, on 10000 issues, that it is pretty meaningless in terms of policy. You could say it works in the sense that your team gets in, though.
- spaceribs 3y ago
  That's certainly a critique of voting systems, but there are plenty of ways to increase the resolution of that signal.
  - robertlagrant 3y ago
    Perhaps, but equally populations are growing, so each person's signal gets less and less valuable over time. Democracies birthed in places with a high sense of buy-in and relatively few people voting would've felt very different to how things feel today, and I don't know how many ways there are to rectify that.

lotsoweiners 3y ago

I work for the government, not federal but local. While I certainly don’t trust any level of the government I certainly trust them more than I trust Microsoft, Open AI, or any other SV billionaires or wanna be billionaires.

robertlagrant 3y ago
Not to worry you, but Microsoft are hyper embedded all throughout your government :)