On Wed, Jun 17, 2009 at 11:19 AM, Bruce Metcalf <[email protected]> wrote: > > I am reminded of the Blonde's Lament: "Thinking is *hard*!" > > The complexity of government exceeds the understanding of most voters.
True. Holding on to that line of thought i wonder how much awareness any newly elected MP would have about governance or his/her local constituency since a democracy cant have a 'sons/daughters of soil' policy, possibly leading to disconnect. And by the time s/he can acclimatise themselves to governance, laws, coalition politics, warding off those waiting to occupy their chair (literally) ; it would be time for the next election. Probably why dynasties survive longer uninterrupted stints in Indian politics (and probably elsewhere too). > > It's also a fact that the government that affects people the most is the most > local > government. Thus it's much easier to raise a rabble of 1% of the electorate > for a Interesting point. However isnt it true that in the US, the local county residents still retain some form of local self-governance? If the local residents decide they dont want a Wal-Mart, they can veto it from opening shop in their county. We dont have that form of local governance in Indian cities. http://ibnlive.in.com/electionblogs/arvind-kejriwal/2473/53398/only-affirmative-collective-action-can-save-india.html > In support of this, it's been my observation that the level of corruption > goes up with the square of the average distance from the electors to the > elected, and directly with the number of voters represented. <Better > multipliers are invited.> this was pretty good ratio :) > Sadly, I've come to believe that representative democracy is not a > particularly effective tool for dealing with complex, technical, or long-term > problems. Sadder yet, I have not been able to imagine a system that would do > better. > I do wonder how good/bad it may have been under Kings/Queens. Their war-hungry penchant for annexing the neighbouring kingdoms not withstanding (which occurs today too in a slightly modified global context), would the leadership have been more accountable to its citizens back then? -- .
