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Democracy's Missing Pieces

This is a pretty long article, but well worth the read. Sztorc gives us a 10-part series asking (and somewhat answering) the question "on Election Day, why are the two choices so bad?"
A political party is a frightening thing, and it can only be kept in line by a second political party. Let us not weaken our lone defender.
Sztorc can be eloquent when not frustrated by his inability to get traction for drivechains in Bitcoin. Here, he does an excellent job of thinking through democracies and how they work. Unfortunately, his solution is unlikely to ever be adopted.

Here's the introduction to give you a sense of it:

What type of government is best?
Well, “democracy” – of course!
But that is too vague.
The world contains many “democracies” – each different from the next. “Majority rule” is the norm in formerly-British countries, but “proportional representation” is used in Continental Europe and Latin America. Some countries use “open-list” PR, but others use “closed-list” PR. Some are Presidential (such as the USA), others are Parliamentary (such as the UK). Each democracy is unique. France – mixed a bunch of ideas together; Italy – is constantly changing their system.
North Korea claims to be a democracy (their official name is: “The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea”). They have elections. Is that all it takes? Russia – claims to be a democracy. China – as well. Do we believe them? No. But – in what objective sense are they lying?
Great title but I suspect the conclusion stems from a lack of imagination. To be fair, though, I didn't read it.
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Yes, it's very long. But I found it pretty engaging all the way through.
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I'm not surprised. It sounds like the sort of thing I'd enjoy too.
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“proportional representation” is used in Continental Europe and Latin America
Cope, not even remotely true... just because the parties (fake) seem fragmented everything ultimately boils down to for and against, the yin and the yang, good and evil... whatever term you use to attribute to the bipolarity of the universe.
Factions within the Republican party are for example much more consequential than their Europoor counter-parts precisely because the system is first-past-the-post.
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102 sats \ 0 replies \ @Akg10s3 6 Aug
I sometimes think of places like Russia, where the concept of government is somewhat automatic, or the person or entity in charge isn't that relevant to a Russian's daily life.
They are a nation that knows what everyone should be and do... (They know the limits they shouldn't cross to be well) and that's it!
If tomorrow they changed the name to "Cruel and Bloody Dictatorship of Russia"... They would continue working hard and without wasting time... as they have done for the last century!
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