TOWN MEETING (Selecting Our Leaders)

[Koikaze]

Here's a bit more on the same topic:

Suppose you and I and Occams Razor become disenchanted with Mariner because he favors a windmill with vanes that rotate counter-clockwise and we want vanes that turn clockwise. Since we three feel Mariner can no longer be trusted to advance our interest, we decide to replace him. After talking to a number of other people, we decide we can rely on fung derf to carry out our wishes. So, we withdraw our support from Mariner and give it to fung derf, instead. That's not as far-fetched as it might seem. It's similar to the situation described in #msg-6033894

However, you and I and Occams Razor have never been elected to anything and here we are deciding our party's policies and what candidate we'll put forth. The public has had no part in these deliberations or decisions, but they are only able to vote for the candidates we (and our opponent parties) put forth.

That is not democracy. It's closer to dictatorship.

There are a few points in this we shouldn't miss:

1) When we switch our support from Mariner to fung derf, how do we know fung derf will carry out our wishes? We know because he has convinced us of his commitment to our party. In all probability, we have already tested him in some other capacity and know he is reliable.

2) If our (yours and mine and Occam's Razor's) purpose is for the benefit of our community, we have no need to load the electoral process in our favor. There is nothing to prevent us from presenting our proposal for solution of our community's energy problem to our fairly elected mayor. If, in fact, our proposal is in the best interest of our community, and if our mayor is a person of integrity, known to protect the public interest, it will be adopted.

3) There is a possibility that our proposal will be rejected. There are many legitimate reasons why this might happen. We ... for whatever reason ... have a bias in favor of our solution, but others may not see it the same way. They may not view the energy crisis with alarm, or they may decide that a hydroelectric plant on a nearby river is a better solution. We may not like the rejection, but that does not mean we shouldn't be rejected.

Fred