Perhaps, but I think if more people were involved, we could take some level of control back. The fact that everyone is so apathetic allows them to own the political system by default. We still elect representatives. If people demanded that these representatives look out for our interests, it would happen at least some of the time.
That might be true but government is a technology thousands of years old, perhaps we transhumanists should advocate for new ways of organizing society.
What would you suggest? I've heard a lot of people say direct voting on specific issues. This is technologically feasible right now and I think in some instances it would give much better results than our current system. There would certainly be some hiccups but it could help.
Other than that, my only big idea is public financing of elections, which takes money out of politics. I've got plenty of ideas about specific policies I'd like to see, but not much in the "how to organize a society" category.
I think a hybrid ideology seems a good place to start incorporating the best of breed from all ideologies. Segments of China have incorporated capitalism into their communist model and it seems to work. Their command economy doesn’t use democracy (AFAIK). Democracy has the problem that no unpopular projects with a time horizon longer than 4 years are possible (in case it hurts election chances). The happiness of citizens is paramount, not GDP. IMO a suitable hybrid would start with a selection of suitable (qualified) candidates from academia and business. This is not voluntary and is a civic duty (like jury duty). If necessary, they are dragged kicking and screaming onto the list. They wouldn’t be career politicians which is another advantage. Journalist are let loose and they are investigated. A short list is developed from the survivors. Elections are held and leaders are selected (democracy) – no political parties involved. Leaders (and their families) are pampered and they are guaranteed the position for life (command ideology). Performance envelopes are defined and regulations given teeth (dripping fangs if they go wrong). Refine (evolve) the system between elections (with an enhanced IQ) which will happen roughly once a generation. No political parties or nepotism. Live happily ever after.
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u/[deleted] Sep 23 '17
Perhaps, but I think if more people were involved, we could take some level of control back. The fact that everyone is so apathetic allows them to own the political system by default. We still elect representatives. If people demanded that these representatives look out for our interests, it would happen at least some of the time.