Representative democracy

From Metagovernment - Government of, by, and for all the people

Representative democracy is a form of democracy founded on the principles of the people's representatives. The representatives form an independent ruling body charged with the responsibility of acting in the people's interest, but not as their proxy representatives (i.e., not necessarily always according to their immediate wishes). See the Wikipedia article on representative democracy.

Proponents of representative democracy usually hold it to be practically superior to direct democracy because it provides a solution for the problems of mob rule and issue overload. However, there are numerous criticisms of representative democracy.

The Metagovernment project intends to overcome the traditional limitations of direct democracy (through the use of Metascore), thereby allowing people to dispense with representative democracies.

Representative democracies are common not only in governments but in many other institutions and organizations.

Problems with representative democracy

No direct say

Citizens get no direct say on any particular issue, instead being forced to support a platform and/or candidate.

Suppression of ideas

People who may have a great idea for resolving an issue may not be willing/able to put in the tremendous effort needed to make their voice possibly be heard.

Human flaws

People who do have a say on any issue (representatives, lobbyists, etc.) are not necessarily the best people for the job, and may not be able to come up with the best solutions.

Suppression of issues

Many (often critical) issues are completely ignored when candidates for an office do not disagree over them. The option of voting for one candidate or another does not provide any recourse for citizens wishing to address that issue.

Trivial participation

Voting seems like a meaningless act, sometimes being at best the barest expression of a general sentiment summarized by exit polls. The word "democracy" does not seem to be fulfilled by that once-every-couple-years, ten-minute act of choosing from a handful of unfamiliar people (who then are granted sweeping power over one's life).

Corruption

Because representatives are given power, they frequently are corrupt and/or are actively working for interests at odds with the rest of society.

Democracy is always endangered

Since leaders have power, there is always the threat of the leaders dispensing with the democracy.

Disenfranchisement

There are always artificial limits to participation. Often even in the most "open" democracies, defined groups (such as children, non-citizens, and criminals) are not given any voice.