bitcoin as a global medium of exchange (was Re: Interesting take on Sanjuro's Assassination Market)

[James A. Donald]

On 2013-11-27 21:04, Cathal Garvey (Phone) wrote:
> Methinks you are conflating "elected representation" with "democracy".
> Election of tenured representatives is only one (failure) mode of
> democracy, one so terrible the old Athenians likened to oligarchy.
>
> Other modes exist: some have been extensively stress tested, such as
> sortition (Athens).


Athenian democracy self destructed much more rapidly than American 
democracy did, and for the next couple of millennia everyone pointed at 
Athens as proof that democracy was a very bad idea.

Elected officials have a very short time horizon.  Thus, for example, 
Obama said a whole lot of stuff that he knew would blow up in his face 
after the next election, because he was only worried about stuff that 
would blow up before the next election.  This was the big problem with 
Athenian democracy before its defeat in the Pelopenessian wars, the 
invasion of Sicily being an example of Athenian decision making ruled by 
short term political advantage without concern for the longer term 
consequence of catastrophic defeat and enormous loss of life.

Because of this problem, power tends to slide from their hands into the 
hands of a permanent and unelected elite, which is the situation we now 
have in America.  In the short term this alleviates the problems of 
democracy, but in the longer term, which is to say now, discipline 
within the permanent unelected elite breaks down, and they all steal 
from each other and the public, they succumb to the tragedy of the 
commons, which is the situation we now have.