Equality by lot

Carlos Acuña an attorney from El Centro, California, writes in the Calexico Chronicle:

The upcoming national elections later this fall, not to mention the upcoming recall in … gulp, Calexico, bring to mind the legend of Faust. For those unfamiliar with the name a Medieval legend revolves around a man, Faust, who made a deal with the devil. Faust, in exchange for knowledge and the hedonistic life, offered his soul to the devil. The devil gladly agreed. The devil had vacancies to fill, that sort of thing; hell has no homeless; all are welcome.

Faust was not alone. Your garden-variety political candidate pretty much brings Faust to mind. Political office seekers tend to be a self-selecting lot; unlike the ancient Greek system of sortition — reflected in our modern jury system — where citizens got selected at random to represent the population at large in the halls of leadership and political decision-making. Those hungry for power jockey for position; sadly, those who want it most, deserve it least. The Greeks knew it, 2,300 years ago … Hence, their citizen lottery for leadership, real democracy. A side effect from that: the Greeks not knowing who among them would be picked, made sure everyone got a first-rate education, including ethics …

In modern democracies, specifically in these United States, office seekers join one or the other wing of the American perpetual war party, be it the Democrat or the Republican. These parties put themselves and their candidates on the auction block — all corporations and interest groups welcome to bid.

The “wings” compete against each other to sell their platform, as do their carefully vetted candidates, at least according to professor Thomas Ferguson and his “investment theory of party competition.” Professor Ferguson studied the phenomenon regarding the nexus between corporate donations and legislation favoring said “donors.” The majoritarian public and its interests be damned. A clever part of a wing’s platform consists in its ability to sell its narrative to the American voter. The wing that concocts the most seductive, feel-good narrative to sell naturally gets more money. And dollars to doughnuts, nine out of 10 times will win an election. Some theory …

Filed under: Academia, Athens, Elections, Press, Sortition |