NationStates Jolt Archive


Hypothetical Political System

Sileetris
30-08-2005, 05:45
I'd like to propose a system of government I've been thinking up to the people here and see a response..... My basic goal is to try and come up with a pretty fair, workable system, with what I hope would be less abusable than current systems. Also, its a pretty weird idea so yeah...

The problem I see with democracy is the people that come to power owe favors to the people that got them there, which can lead to unfair treatment of the losers. The idea of giving all the ideas a chance is good though...

Dictatorships, have a similar problem. The Despot that comes to power owes his position to his party. In theory, though, an enlightened dictator could rule a country very well.

Monarchs may or may not owe power to others (depends on if we're talking about ones with barons and all that), meaning they could in theory be fair rulers, if they weren't biased towards say their family agenda.

In every system, problems arise because the leaders owe their constituents something, prompting me to wonder if its possible to design a system where the constituents can't gain anything from political appointments; in theory if they have nothing to gain they will make decisions based on their idea of what makes a good leader, rather than how they can manipulate the system to favor them.

What if you have a small class of people with fixed incomes (monitored) and no particular affiliation to vote for a leader of the same qualities? The leader can't give special favors to them once empowered, and they can't recieve benefits from outside sources, so they should elect a leader on his qualities as a leader.

Before I award this person utter control of the country, I think there should be a popularly elected governing body to insure the people recieve official representation, and if this parliament totally disagrees with the leader they can veto him. This is under the assumption that if he makes a really unpopular decision, something can stop him.

Anyway, imagine a political school that teaches extremely gifted students from a fairly early age in how to govern. They'll read the classic works and get an appreciation for the nature of mankind. They'd tour the country (and the world) learning about people and how to interact with them, different beliefs, etc. By the end of their time in the school, they'll be the pinnacles of political knowledge, and we'll have them vote for who among them they feel would be the best leader. There might be secondary elections for district heads and whatnot... Anyone that doesn't get elected to a position by their peers I guess will either go on with the rest of their lives, maybe to the popular parliament, maybe to another country, whatever (if its determined they would somehow hinder the fair operation of the system, I guess they get sent off on a lifetime paid vacation).

There are two glaring problems I can see with the acadamy idea; parents and teachers. The students will probably follow their parent's beliefs somewhat, leading to some bias (I'm looking at fundamentalist religions here...), my counter to this being the extremist views will probably constitute a small percentage of the school vote. As for the teachers, the problem lies in determining what is taught; who draws the guidelines for what will become the basis for a ruler's mentality? Who has the right to do that? Quick answer; me. The only reason anyone has the right to do anything is by others consent, and if I draw a line and enough people agree with it, well there you go.

Right, anyway, sorry for the rantish and disconnected nature, if you followed it up till here good for you, now poke holes in it until its dead!
Squi
30-08-2005, 05:55
If all you are looking for is a way to ensure that the office holders do not owe people for the office, wouldn't a strict examination Civil Service be easier to establish?

I'm not sure how your system would be subverted, but knowing the ingenuity of humans I am certain something would be worked out. Perhaps the families of the electorate could be bribed or similar.
Robbopolis
30-08-2005, 05:59
Sorry. This still sounds a little too much like 1984. Or better yet, Plato's Republic (aka On Justice). A small minority get to make decisions for everyone. No matter how you design it, that minority will find some way to put itself ahead of everyone else. Even if money is not the issue, it could be based on political power. For example, your hypothetical ruler could appoint one of said minority a member of the cabinet. Even if you don't allow that, or any other direct payback, the idea is still there.
Cana2
30-08-2005, 06:05
George Bush would kill you, Democracy hater!:p The people who regulate the system seem to have alot of power in this system. It reminded me of Stalin's postion in the Communist Party before he became leader. He had huge influence over who got in the party and let in people agreed with his ideas. Someone will figure out how to abuse this system and minipulate it in a way that benifits them.