Hacker News Reader

Comment by Fando | Hacker News Reader

If you could redesign a system of government free from major flaws we see today, how would it work? Current systems almost seem to have a tendency to "breed" the types of malevolent, inefficient, greedy and problematic power structures we see. I think that at the root of the problem are natural human flaws. It seems almost certain that given enough time, no matter how well intentioned people are, the cumulative effect of our natural flaws inevitably evolves the kind of system/culture that attracts and perpetuates these flawed tendencies. I think the process could be compared to natural selection. Has anyone thought about it like that? I'm curious. Is it possible to design a system of government which would not be influenced by inherent human flaws? A system which, by design, has a tendency to "select" characteristics that shape it to be more beneficial, free from its current flaws?

View on HN

A government and enforcement (military/police) entirely made up of robots running open-sourced and transparent AI? So that everyone could see all the factors that go into their decisions, and the short- and long-term benefits that the AI calculated for all parties affected by its rulings.

I mean, if the core issue is natural human flaws, then removing humans from the process altogether, like we do with all our other routine automation, seems to be the inevitable solution.

The problem, of course, is deciding who gets to decide the initial set of rules, and when to patch what...

Some form of sortition probably;

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sortition

Basically treat political office as a civic duty, much like jury duty.

Give them a very generous salary and have a maximum term after which they can never be reinstated.

Also ban completely any form of financial lobbying.

I don't know how this worked back then, but what prevents acts of corruption or any other kind of power abuse from the instated public figures' part? BTW, the power itself legitimizes lobbying, so this may sound a little cynical but when you ban means convenient for corruption then it simply goes underground until it finds its way to being legit again in some form. Maybe this is the way it's supposed to be (the cynical part) - the game of life and the ever-present competition inside our species?

Pick 30 random people and replace them every 3 months. The new laws have to be voted on by either a referendum or a large random draft (1000 people) (which are also often replaced).

Problems are: keeping the random random. People in general making immature decision, like lowering the taxes.

Good luck implementing anything that takes longer than three months to bear fruit.

Remove a government monopoly and solve the problem with competition:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polycentric_law

Reply on news.ycombinator.com