16 November 2017

What's wrong with politics?

Focusing on UK government but extending to cover other systems where necessary.


  • Individual leaders (prime minsters, presidents, chairmen) have too much power and use it to make bad decisions. For example, spreading fake news, creating a cult of personality, and controlling sectors like military. 
    • Example: Kim Jong-Un is a selfish dictator
    • Example: Putin took Crimea, permitted fake news stories about Hilary Clinton and Brexit
    • Example: Donald Trump, someone unqualified to make good decisions, had influence in all bad places, is sexist, misogynist, and corrupt, and generally had no respect for others
    • Solution: No country is appointed a single individual leader.
      • Method: A jury is selected at random from the electorate. Collectively, they must all agree to a decision. This is called citizen oversight.
        • Compare to: An oligarchy. Oligarchy are typically considered to be comprised of wealthy individuals with power. However, a randomly selected set would not have this issue unless individuals are promised returns after their roles. In this case, all decisions must be recorded and checked for ulterior motives. Communication outside is not permitted and warrants immediate removal.
        • Oligarchy means anarchy can be created and the system overthrown. Solution would be to appoint a new person, randomly selected, from a prepared group, who again, are randomly selected.
    • Solution: There are no leaders, and all decisions are purely down to the public.
      • This leads to the tyranny of the majority - people who are uninformed or able to exert influence can cause poor decisions.
  • Countries fail to comply with agreed laws
    • Example: Kim Jong-Un plans military weaponry
    • Example: Several countries including US, UK, Japan etc have nuclear weapons
    • The UN have very limited power, and being a member is optional
      • They do have the power to cease trade
  • Countries fail to make progress on meeting demands of climate change
    • Example: China is a developing country which gives it free reign to use fossil fuels like coal, even though this is hypocritical to other countries already reliant on renewable energy. The entire world suffers because of making exceptions and excuses.
      • Related: Black cabs are exempt from congestion charges in London, even though they are perfect candidates for hybrid and electric vehicles on short trips
  • Referendums can end up with highly negative consequences
    • Example: Brexit
    • Cause: Improper education to the public on both sides of the debate
    • Cause: Lack of promise or clear definition as to the consequences
    • Solution: Think tanks x 10. A better description would be 'Idea Banks'. Anyone from any background or age, regardless of being in the electorate, is able to submit ideas for policies and decisions. No education is required. Such a system would require curators, who sort, de-duplicate, organise, and qualify every idea submitted. Ultimately this results in a more manageable set of ideas, grouped into topics such as education, health and transport. Each idea then is classed with an upvote system.
      • Additionally, certain groups of individuals are expected to feed ideas into the system. Example: historians, futurists - people who know what bad decisions have been made in the past, and what decisions are most likely to help us to a better future. There is no longer a concept of a politician.
      • To become a curator does require knowledge and training, but all actions are observable and traceable by the public.
      • Platforms such as debate.org an be used to discuss topics and sides, on a bigger scale.
    • Solution: Electorate are required to demonstrate an understanding of consequences of their decisions, by passing competency tests and ensuring they are shown how any decision they make can influence. For example, swearing on a Twitter account looks unprofessional and means poorer career choices. There should be a compendium of these nuances of society, and people should be tested to ensure they are aware of these 'so what' consequences.