Here's a thought experiment. Suppose that we have some sort of broad change everything power, and we initiate the following. 1.) All federally elected officials are drawn from the ranks of the taxpaying public 2.) Elections candidates are selected at random from the area that the official will oversee (say 100 per position). 3.) Officials are paid the equivalent of the median income salary for America. 4.) If elected you must serve the term. 5.) 1 year before the election begins the candidates must attend a randomly selected college to take the courses related to their position, the top 10 scorers become the candidates for the election. Would it be better, or worse than the current system of pay to play.? For example, in 2015, 100 random people in America get selected to be candidates for president, who then take a years worth of history economics and poly-sci, who then are filtered to the top 10 scorers and are voted on by the American public in 2016. Almost like a draft for civil service.
What if you get incredibly stupid individuals? Probability wise, there's a chance that all 100 have below average intellect or have some weird opinions. For example, you go to redneck town and pick like a hundred rednecks who all love guns and questionable familial relationships. There's no guarantee that all will try their utmost at the college. An intelligent individual who makes more than the equivalent of the median salary income will simply flunk the courses on purpose so as to return to their better paying jobs.
what in our current system filters out stupid individuals? Or weird opinions? Our current system is weighted toward the best talkers rather than the best doers. There currently is no guarantee that any of our elected officials will try their utmost at, well, anything! Pick a 100 random people across the U.S. and you'll get on average.... 100 people. some smart, some dumb, maybe a furry or a bronie, maybe a Muslim or a Pentecostal. A representative sample of the nation as a whole.
alright but what if the top 10 candidate are all religious nutters or are racist? keep in mind I live in the UK so I'm pretty clueless on US politics except that people love Trump and his mighty wall. median household income is at $50,500 (usa) a doctor has a 63% higher salary then that, why would they waste time with a meager wage? besides if they are randomly selected...i though the us had some law that the president had to be a citizen what if its just some random turkish guy that came into the country last week?
Yeah, what if they have a much higher income, but Also, if you have a really dumb candidate that gets through, they still have to serve the term?
have you seen our current line up? Logically candidates would still have to qualify for the position, but the point is to make it similar to jury duty, or a civil draft. Hey if the american public votes in Karl Childers more power to them.
Thats basically like a Jury, sometimes fools are chosen for that civil duty. Not everything works out
Wtf? Why would you pick it randomly? What happened to merit and actually being qualified for the job? That's a really stupid idea. Also, there's tons of room for corruption in the "random" selection process.
Here's a question for you, what happens when the 100 people randomly selected all say they don't want the job? Do you force them into a job they don't want for slave labor? After all you did list as they must serve the term, which means it's not a choice, it's forced labor, which should be a crime.
It wouldnt work. Even if we assume that the people voted are talented, he fact that they were forced means they would do a half hearted job. Some may work hard and the rest.... I mean, one your of studying plus one term is 4 years? They'd give up by the third year.
You're just attempting to clone the original Greek democracy... That's literally what you described... Greece was destroyed.
comparing your system to the current one is like comparing intentional malfeasance with intentional malfeasance spiced up with a bit of random incompetence
The american election has never been about merit. It's been about power and manipulation. But let's say it is. What criteria would a candidate have to meet to be "qualified" For congress? For president? Does the current system really reflect merit? or Money? As i believe plato once said "Those who seek power are not worthy of that power. " You mean a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sortition? Sure lets go with that. Although to be fair, it wasn't the sortition that caused the downfall of greece. Anymore than having a monarch led to the downfall of china when the mongols invaded.
Malfeasance - wrongdoing, especially by a public official I know if I get picked for that, I'd definitely just skip everything and just pretend I was never picked. Pretty sure most of us have zero interest in working as a government official. And most of us have even less interest in staying in a country where we don't know if the government will be semi-competent at least. The experiment is basically saying that you'll take away power from the people who worked to get there (regardless of whether they are competent or not) and giving it to the first random person you see on the street regardless of if they're sane, insane, educated, uneducated, or a criminal. Want to know what it's like to give a toddler a button that will pull the trigger to a gun to your head and leaving them alone? Well that's what your experiment is suggesting we do
What about bribes and cheating during the election? And can you define randomly? If there are people involved, secretly pushing someone into that position is not impossible... Can these people balance everything with just knowledge learned in 1 year? People in high position need the experience, skills and knowledge to fulfill it well... The idea is nice - everyone would have the same chance but in reality it's hardly possible. Sadly you need an enormous amount of luck and skill to climb from the bottom/lower half into the upper half/top. So it is a naive idea.
Not really, that would be a pure sortition, In this case it would be two part where a representative sample of the country is selected, at random, (your sortition) then that pool is winnowed down by the election process. The issue is how you create your pool for sortition. Here's the thing The current system in america has no filters beyond these. 1.) 35 or older 2.) Natural U.S. Citizen 3.) 14 years a resident 4.) Money enough to please abba.