[EM] Conceiving a Democratic Electoral Process

[Fred Gohlke]

Since time immemorial, democratic political action has taken place in 
pretty much the same way; a community believes or is led to believe it 
needs leaders, everyone in the community is invited to attend a meeting 
and encouraged to seek a leadership position.  At some point, members of 
the community are nominated for office and an election is held.  This 
methodology is common to such disparate groups as the Junior Chamber of 
Commerce, the local Little League, and the Town Meetings that were once 
a staple of American politics - and from which our present system grew.

A notable thing about this process is that it is passive.  Democracy, 
which we believe to be government "by the people" implies the active 
participation of the people.  Our attempts to achieve democratic 
outcomes by this method fail because nothing in the process seeks the 
active participation of the individual members of the community. 
Instead, the membership waits for individuals to step up and take 
leadership positions.  There is an assumption that those who step 
forward have the knowledge, ability and desire to serve the common 
interest - an assumption that is frequently wrong.  There is also an 
assumption that those who do not step up are not competent to influence 
the choice of leaders - an assumption belied by the broad distribution 
of talented individuals in the population.

The idea of calling a meeting and encouraging all members of the 
community to attend and participate fails because most of us lack the 
peculiar certainty that allows us to speak for others.  That does not 
mean we do not have sound, rational ideas about how humans should 
interact, it just means we are less vociferous than those who step forward.

This phenomenon is influenced by many factors, not least of which is the 
size of the community.  The larger the group, the less inclined most of 
us are to participate in the discussion and the more inclined we are to 
simply form unvoiced opinions.  Many of us are unaware of our political 
talents because we are never placed in a situation that calls upon us to 
exercise that ability.  If we had an electoral process that encouraged 
us to discuss current and prospective issues with our peers and have 
meaningful input into the community's activities, some of us would 
blossom.  Some, who start out unsure of their ability, would, when their 
reason is consulted, learn they can persuade others of the value of our 
ideas.

Persuasion is an important component of the electoral process.  When 
persuasion occurs between two people, it takes place as a dialogue with 
one person attempting to persuade the other.  In such events, both 
parties are free to participate in the process.  The person to be 
persuaded can question the persuader as to specific points and present 
alternative points about the topic under discussion.  Under such 
circumstances, it is possible that the persuader will become the persuaded.

However, when persuasion involves multiple people, it has a greater 
tendency to occur as a monologue.  The transition from dialogue to 
monologue accelerates as the number of people to be persuaded increases. 
  The larger the number of people, the less free some of them are to 
participate in the process.  They have fewer opportunities and are less 
inclined to question specific points or offer alternatives about the 
topic under discussion.

In such circumstances, the more assertive individuals will dominate the 
discussion and the viewpoints of the less assertive members will not be 
expressed.  The assertive individual is unlikely to be persuaded of the 
wisdom of an alternative idea, because the view will not be expressed or 
discussed.

This rationale suggests the wisdom of devising an electoral method that 
makes every member of the electorate an active participant in the 
process.  The critical question such a discussion must answer is, "How 
can we create an electoral process that allows and encourages the entire 
electorate to exercise their ability to guide the community's affairs to 
the full extent of their desire and ability?"

Respectfully submitted,

Fred Gohlke