Good Afternoon, Juho
re: "Our political systems do have serious problems but on the
other hand we are somewhat above 'the laws of jungle'."
We may be "... somewhat above 'the laws of the jungle'", but that's no
testament to our government of ourselves. We will do better when adopt
an electoral process that encourages probity instead of suppressing it.
re: "I'd say that all large structures have the tendency to
become oligarchic (that covers e.g. companies, associations
and administrative structures in addition to parties)."
Thus, if we seek a democratic electoral system, one of our first
considerations must be to forestall this oligarchical tendency. Since,
as you note elsewhere in your post, "... in all systems people will find
the loopholes", we must do our utmost to reduce that potential. We can
do that by ensuring that every citizen has a fresh and equal opportunity
to influence the choices made within the political structure, in every
election.
When everyone participates in the Practical Democracy process, the only
way I've been able to imagine for an oligarchic tendency to appear is if
election cycles are infrequent or terms of office are excessive. Both
should be matters of great concern to those who implement the process.
Limiting terms of office to three years and barring elected officials
from re-election would reduce the potential for an oligarchical
supremacy to develop.
re: "... And there are new challenges like reaching the limits of
the earth to support continuous growth of the economy (and
our well-being), and the exponential growth of human
population."
These challenges are the result of human activity. The advent of the
cancerous 'growth' that threatens our existence flows from a political
system that puts the interests of economic entities above the interests
of the humans among us. If we wish to reverse this course we must begin
by selecting the best of our people as our political leaders.
Fred Gohlke
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