[EM] Conceiving a Democratic Electoral Process

[Fred Gohlke]

Good Morning, Peter

re: "In your list, you forgot to mention 'campaign spending by
      third parties' ..."

Goal (2) was intended to cover this problem, but is poorly worded.  We 
should examine the corrosive effect of political campaigning more 
carefully and then improve the statement of the goal.

Campaigning is a one-way process.  It is a flow of assertions from 
politicians to the people.  It benefits the politicians but provides no 
benefit to the people because they cannot examine the campaigners.  Even 
when they know the assertions are false or misleading, they have no way 
to examine the source to determine the truth.

Political campaigning makes conventional democratic systems susceptible 
to financial influence.  Businesses, labor unions and other vested 
interests give immense amounts of money and logistical support to 
political parties to push their agenda and to secure the passage of laws 
that benefit the donors.  The result is a cesspool of corruption, funded 
by special interests that buy the laws we endure.

In addition to the inherently corruptive nature of begging for money to 
finance political campaigns, the high cost creates an artificial barrier 
that prevents competitive ideas from challenging the dominant parties.

Perhaps the least acknowledged aspect of political campaigning is its 
devastating effect on the character of the candidates.  When 
campaigning, politicians use ideas and arguments, not to search for 
truth, but to manipulate the people in the quest for power.  They pursue 
that power through whatever means they think most effective, without 
regard for right and wrong.  For them, campaigning is a training course 
in the art of deception.

To make matters worse, candidates are incessantly lionized by their 
supporters.  These things have a debilitating effect on the candidate's 
character, and, since morality is a top-down phenomenon, choosing 
political leaders by this method elevates amoral or immoral candidates 
and destroys society.  If we wish to improve our culture, we must 
acknowledge the adverse effects of campaign-based politics and conceive 
a better way to select our political leaders.

Goal (2) should be modified to reflect this reality.

I started a comment on your reference to 'media coverage' but it turns 
out to be a fairly complex matter so I'll do some more work on it and 
post it when I've finished.

Fred