A good question. I think we need to start with what it is that people understand to be a democracy and what a democracy actually is. I get the feeling that these don't match.
Yes. Mary Beard was asked in 2021 by Jay Rayner what the Ancient Athenians of the most famous early democracy would have thought of ours. She said they would not have thought it a democracy but a popularity contest, an anathema to them. 1/2
A very interesting paper. I have always thought we are more of a 'majority rules' democracy than a representative democracy, highlighted by the increasing polarisation in politics and the rise of cult-like followings. We need to change this, your proposal certainly seems like an improvement.
forcing people to participate, the inbuilt bias towards the rich, the danger to the ‘elected’ representatives when things go wrong, the fact that any government formed this way would be inherently unstable & non functional.
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You’ve essentially reinvented a worse form of communism.
I appreciate that sounds negative, but it was genuinely interesting to read, so thank you. It reinforces my belief that the govt should set up citizen assemblies to discuss electoral reform.
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https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/edvlvhw5qpy8zc6p41rbd/Voting-by-AHJ.pdf?rlkey=imce0yqfxdf77357c1jqxigky&dl=0
I couldn’t disagree more with your alternative though, there are some terrifying flaws in your thinking, such as:
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I appreciate that sounds negative, but it was genuinely interesting to read, so thank you. It reinforces my belief that the govt should set up citizen assemblies to discuss electoral reform.
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