The Bloj

Maybe you don’t want the general public writing laws, but…

Posted on October 3rd, 2008 by Chris.
Categories: Chris, Politics, Product Design.

There are several types of policy making:

1. Creating proposals
2. Proposing amendments
3. Up or down votes

I know some people who are working on a constitution. If you let everyone go all over phase 1, the process will never end. But if you let the minority control the whole process, well, then, you have an oligarchy. And we’ve learned that lesson already.

However, what if you compromise? If you let everyone in on phase 3, but not the others, then you get at least some approval, but you moderate the populism and the paralysis.

Parliamentary procedure is underrated. When we hear about direct democracy, the pundits don’t usually separate out these parts. But there’s good reason to dissect the procedure when talking about democracy. It’s common sense not to be all or nothing.

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