[P2P-F] Fwd: Ancient Athens didn't have politicians. Is there a lesson for us?

Fri Jan 18 22:13:45 CET 2013

On Wednesday, January 16, 2013 02:17:07 PM M. Fioretti wrote:
> I seriously think you misunderstood me (it could be my fault, of course)

> I'd rather be ruled by bureaucrats and technocrats that are really,
> really accountable, rather than from continuous vote of many
> individuals who are (including ME, of course) thouroughly
> disinterested and incompetent on many topics,

Marco,

You seem to be saying that the world is too complex for you to be involved in 
making policy.  The nation-states of the world today are all authoritarian in 
that a tiny fraction of the population create policy which affects everyone.  
It doesn't mean so much to say we are equal "under the law" if we aren't all 
equal "over the law".  Large-scale coordination can overwhelm the individual, 
but that's the point of avoiding authoritarian government.  We must continue 
to break down barriers between the government and the governed, and IMO your 
participation is needed.

Democracy is about participation in creating outcomes, and has nothing in 
particular to do with voting.  If you aren't competent to create policy then 
you have no business participating in a popularity contest for bureaucrats who 
can only claim to be competent.  That is sham democracy.

A final thought from me on complexity: It *IS* relative to one's ability to 
understand and manage the underlying dynamics, and yes, choosing not to "live 
a certain way" can be key to achieving simplification.

-Karl