Representative democracy

About

Representative democracy (RD) is a system of government in which citizens elect representatives to make policy decisions – as opposed to direct democracy, where citizens vote directly on such decisions.

• Advantages:
  • Decisionmakers can be provided with adequate resources (time, assistance, expertise) for making good decisions.
  • Meaningful debate and consensus are theoretically possible, given the smaller number of negotiators.
• Disadvantages:
  • RD creates unaccountable concentration of power in a number of ways:
    • Traditional forms of RD usually have set terms for each representative and a very high bar for recall (i.e. removal from office by popular initiative), giving them a large window during which they may do damage.
    • Traditional electoral methods:
      • support the creation and continuance of a two-party system, greatly narrowing the field of available candidates.
      • do not represent the wishes of the voters very accurately, often resulting in the election of "compromise" candidates strongly disliked by a majority.
      • can be manipulated by the powerful in a number of ways, including gerrymandering and mass-media propaganda (advertising).

Solutions

• Liquid representation attempts to address the problems inherent in RD without creating the problems inherent in DD.
• Range voting increases vote fidelity, making it more difficult to manipulate the vote and providing less stability for a two-party system.
• Having representatives deliberate online, so that they didn't need to travel long distances when elected, would reduce the need for long terms of office.
  • Having such deliberations take place solely in text mode would also provide a searchable record of such deliberation, making it easier to hold representatives accountable.
  • Structured debate would rigorously document the logic (if any) behind each position, further ensuring accountability.

Links

• Wikipedia