Good piece, and I'd say the right size, too — not too much to digest, think over, and be eager for more! You've hinted at the core of the solution here … no professional politician class. Not just that power corrupts: the desire for power over others (political or otherwise) is a sign of an already corrupted mind! Many years ago I was thinking something similar for teachers. It would be better not to have so many full-time teachers: most learning should be done from people who are actually doing, not just teaching. I'll make exceptions for mentors, and for retiree volunteers, keen to pass on the knowledge of a working lifetime.
Whatever systems replaces the current corrupt one, we need to be very clear, not only about the provisions to counteract the possibility of corporate lobbying, but also the possibility of slowly bending the governance back into corporate interest.
fair point - my articles have been creeping upwards in size. Yes, I often say that people who want to campaign to be elected are exactly the people who shouldn't be elected. And yes, we have to be alert to any weaknesses in commons infrastructure models that allows commons assets to be bought or stolen from the commons; same with governance models - to be sure that there's no way in for corporate influence.
Good piece, and I'd say the right size, too — not too much to digest, think over, and be eager for more! You've hinted at the core of the solution here … no professional politician class. Not just that power corrupts: the desire for power over others (political or otherwise) is a sign of an already corrupted mind! Many years ago I was thinking something similar for teachers. It would be better not to have so many full-time teachers: most learning should be done from people who are actually doing, not just teaching. I'll make exceptions for mentors, and for retiree volunteers, keen to pass on the knowledge of a working lifetime.
Whatever systems replaces the current corrupt one, we need to be very clear, not only about the provisions to counteract the possibility of corporate lobbying, but also the possibility of slowly bending the governance back into corporate interest.
fair point - my articles have been creeping upwards in size. Yes, I often say that people who want to campaign to be elected are exactly the people who shouldn't be elected. And yes, we have to be alert to any weaknesses in commons infrastructure models that allows commons assets to be bought or stolen from the commons; same with governance models - to be sure that there's no way in for corporate influence.