h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Two quotes from Winston Churchill:

"The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter."
"It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried."

How to keep the baby democracy and chuck the bathwater voter stupidity?

Why not add a short quiz to the voting process? Voters would get 1 voice for each correct answer.

For American voters for example, " who is the president of Pakistan?", "what does the term GNP mean?". To give everyone a chance, start with "who is buried in Grant's tomb?"

Not too long, only 4 or 5 questions. First, even if the principle is valid, it's hard to justify giving a college professor 100 votes and a TV news anchor or a congressman only 1 (or 0). second, if voting was made too tiresome the participation levels would fall from already low levels to practically zero. If only 25% of Americans can spare 5 minutes of their time for democracy, how many would dedicate an hour?

Choosing questions would be delicate. Who should do it? A bipartisan congressional task force? A university symposium? The level of questions would differ radically. Obviously the questions must be objective; no asking opinions about abortion or the death penalty. They must also be neutral; no questions like "how many members of the Ben Laden family have lunched with GW Bush?"

A special case could be made for the numerous propositions and minor posts that pepper American ballots. One pertinent question could ascertain if the voter has at least a slight understanding who or what he's voting for. Speaking for myself, it's often not the case.

Linking voting to certain conditions is not revolutionary; in the past it was linked to land ownership, presently a clean police record is a prerequisite.

The effect of this would be wider than just voting results. Once it's clear to politicians that ranting to the lowest common denominator gains only low-vote opinions, their discourse might become more thoughtful. They would take more care in their actions if they realized the fallout would not be forgotten by the next episode of 'The Apprentice".

I'm in, but I prefer it with tea.

See A1060886 for a glimpse. Scroll down to the efforts of JS Mill.

Trout

(somebody tell him it's ALBERT Camus. And isn't the missing link between Football and Existentialism really Eric Cantona? Some sort of missing link, anyway...)

The quiz-weighting of votes I'm not sure about. We have quiz-nights down the pub, and some of the guys who win those ought to be forcibly disenfranchised.

More seriously, the harder it is to participate in politics, the more it becomes the domain of the activist. The easier it is, the more it's distorted by the Hon. Maude's Thickos. A tough balance to strike, but universal suffrage does seem like a workable and equitable system over most of the developed world.

I don't think there's too much of a problem until you get inadequate people standing for high political office. In the UK, we haven't voted in a complete moron yet.

As for the US, though, I'd be surprised if there were any electors at all who don't personally know someone more fit to lead than Bush. The poor chap probably doesn't make the top 20 million Americans in either intelligence or work-rate.

Ultimately, that's where democracy caves in. When self-serving political communities put up idiot candidates, and the electorate proves to be stupid enough to vote for them.

Oh yeah, I forgot. America didn't, quite. Presumably Jed got some extra credit for the question about Grant's tomb...

"In politics shared hatreds are almost always the basis of friendships."
Alexis de Tocqueville

I would only add that chauvinism is rampant in the entire *western world*. How many Pakistanis know the PM of Britain? I don't know but I certainly wouldn't hazard a guess to the negative. Did Grant know who the PM was then? Probably but he might have only guessed when not drunk. Who was the first PM of Canada or the first to propose peace keeping missions? Who is in charge in China? (trick question) All irrelevant? Not to the people involved. Knowing * what every intelligent person should know* is knowing what the person who poses the question believes to be the right answer.