"How Selecting Voters Randomly Can Lead to Better Elections" talks about the ancient Greek model (or Athenian to be poignant) and how it is influencing experiments and discussions today in order to improve the electoral process.
For a backgrounder or refresher - start with Wikipedia.
And then dive into other materials, like the History Channel.
Why do we vote? Or have the right to do so?
Because or voice should be heard, and because the whole population together should feel 'responsible' for the politicians and their actions. As they take actions on our behalf.
And as the actions or inaction impacts more and more of our lives, so should the involvement and the shared understanding grow?
Is the US vastly different? Well, in terms of political ads and spending it certainly stands out. Here in Norway the political ads are strictly legislated, in terms of when, how and who. But social media and tools like Google Adsense is blurring the lines between information and campaigning.
So, should we "outsource" the care for politics - to a random sample, or to those who really really care?
Or, should perhaps the media and the politicians work together to expand the insight and transparency, and radically change how politics is discussed? Or should we as citizens ourselves take control of the agenda?
Holder de ord is one such initiative - an open source collaboration (github!) to present voting data from the Norwegian parliament. It translates as "do they keep their word" - and is similar to sites like They Work For You in the UK
Is 60% or 50% enough? Or would it be better to have a representative selection of a few hundred? Would it make a difference? For the politicians, for us, for the future?
