What if we replaced elected politicians with randomly selected citizens?

submitted by btd1 from fastcompany.com

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[–][deleted] 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (5 children)

It seems like a great idea until the President randomly becomes a psychotic, Communist dictator, and Congress is full of Karens trying to make cutting in line a felony, meanwhile the Vice President is too busy getting black-out drunk to ever show up. That's hyperbolic, but you get the point.

Don't get me wrong, I literally proposed Supreme Court Justices be randomly selected, however, I also said the pool should be elected and appointed, because we can't have some random pedophile getting on the court and ruling that child molestation is now legal.

Sortition also makes politicians unaccountable. You'll see a trend of politicians doing something heavily disfavored of by their constituents the term before they're set to retire. Furthermore, there would be no mechanism for political change, just random people with no idea what they're doing, and not a single care in the world for what the People want. These are actually good things for judicial offices, though, since it makes them more impartial.

[–]StillLessons 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

While the chance of randomly putting people like you describe in office exists with random citizens, I still believe it would be superior to the current system. While under a random system, some percentage of sociopaths of various stripes would be selected, under the current system, those sociopaths are preferred. In other words, the current system (which is to say those who want power figure out how to convince people to let them have it) selects for the exact personality which is most destructive - the personality who wants to dictate how others live their lives and knows best how to lie to others to achieve that goal. So while there will be a percentage of sociopathic control freaks under either system, I am comfortable with the concept that there would be far fewer of them if randomly selected than by designing the system to reward them.

All of which is pointless, because it's never happened before in human society, and it never will. The human instinct to "lead" and "be led" appears to be genetically hardwired. While it is one of the elements making our species the most successful on the planet (for the moment), it is also our undoing.

Our species is on its way to extinction. It's actually kind of fascinating watching a species-level suicide. Killed by the very traits that got us where we are. The world, the solar system, and the galaxy will continue to spin after we are gone, and some other manifestation of conscious activity will take our place.

It's a beautiful universe.

[–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

I still believe it would be superior to the current system.

A literal rock would be better than the current system.

under the current system, those sociopaths are preferred

Yep.

The human instinct to "lead" and "be led" appears to be genetically hardwired.

Which is why sortition won't work, because most people are followers, and would be completely incapable of adequate leadership.

[–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

I literally proposed Supreme Court Justices be randomly selected, however, I also said the pool should be elected and appointed

Catholics do this.

[–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

Huh?

[–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Random selection for positions of power. From a preapproved pool of candidates.

[–]kazenmusic 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

I read a sci-fi story years ago: the premise was, leadership is selected by lottery like jury duty. If you're a qualified citizen, you must stand. Anyone evincing a desire for the job gets free counselling and is banned from holding office.

On another note, I once offered myself up for random jury duty, thinking I might learn something about the world. I was rather astonished at the mean tone with which I was rejected.

[–]MagicMike 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Yep, let AI pick them. The bottom 60% or so of our people make daily efforts to become more stupid.

Give the ‘cattle’ drugs, booze, porn, violent sports, meaningless sex, and they will ‘munch away’ like cattle on the plains of eastern Colorado.

[–]jet199Instigatrix 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

It seems like it's best to have a mixture.

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2012/apr/16/improbable-research-politicians-random-selection

In the UK we could certainly replace the House of Lords with such a body without much difference.

[–]blowininthewind 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

i mean we can play civ 6 or something like that.

seriously though, in the sixties and seventies, yes. now? eh, well anyone above the age of 40 i guess.