Tuesday, August 23, 2016

From the Washington Post: New proposals would let lotteries or experts replace voting. Here’s what’s wrong with that.

More evidence that elites are way down on democracy.

- Click here for the article.

Is it time to rethink representative democracy? After the Brexit vote, some voters in the United Kingdom had a case of “regrexit” and called for a second referendum. In the United States, the recent arguments that the November 2016 election may be “rigged” generated a great deal of public discussion, as did concerns that the Republican Party candidate is not qualified for office.
Those who study this topic have been looking at ways to “renew” representative democracy.
Recently, two rival proposals that trace back to classical Greece have resurfaced for a modern audience. Both limit who can vote and seek to stimulate apolitical and rational decision-making:
1) Representatives by lottery.
2) Experts as representatives.