We’ll done! I didn’t see any obvious English errors either. I’m a little more than half-way through the suggestions for Chapter 4 on electoral reforms. I hope all this gets in the main part of the book, as it addresses more problems with elections, and speaks to the reformers who say sortition is too radical and we just need to reform the electoral system.
Sorry, I have not continued with the editing since the above comment. I don’t remember finishing this section before, but maybe I did. For now, my comment has to do with the last paragraph and your opinion that reforms have to continue while we wait for sortition and citizen assemblies.
Like with the energy transition, a political transition may be aborted by the gradual approach. In using fossil fuels as “bridge fuels” while we develop other energy technologies, we bake in further CO2 emissions, further methane emissions, and further apathy on changing the system. Same for transitioning from elections to sortition/assemblies. As you say in this section, diddling with elections doesn’t really get you very far, and may make things worse in some ways.
This is the dilemma of transition. Do it fast and there’s chaos, but do it slow and there’s baked-in resistance to change.
You are correct... I think. One thing I've gained with age is humility and lack of certainty. For decades I was CERTAIN that getting proportional representation in the US was the best thing to achieve. I was quite certain. I am now equally convinced that sortition is the thing to achieve... but am actively AVOIDING expressing certainty about it, because I also know I am fallible and can be wrong. (But I definitely won't argue with somebody who expresses certainty about the need to transition to sortition rapidly)
Thanks Terry. I too am losing my certainty with many of the things I thought for sure were right when I was younger. But I’m also losing my patience with attempting some things. I want to know before I’m gone!
We’ll done! I didn’t see any obvious English errors either. I’m a little more than half-way through the suggestions for Chapter 4 on electoral reforms. I hope all this gets in the main part of the book, as it addresses more problems with elections, and speaks to the reformers who say sortition is too radical and we just need to reform the electoral system.
Comical irony... Autocorrect messed with the first word of your last comment about editing.😁
Sorry, I have not continued with the editing since the above comment. I don’t remember finishing this section before, but maybe I did. For now, my comment has to do with the last paragraph and your opinion that reforms have to continue while we wait for sortition and citizen assemblies.
Like with the energy transition, a political transition may be aborted by the gradual approach. In using fossil fuels as “bridge fuels” while we develop other energy technologies, we bake in further CO2 emissions, further methane emissions, and further apathy on changing the system. Same for transitioning from elections to sortition/assemblies. As you say in this section, diddling with elections doesn’t really get you very far, and may make things worse in some ways.
This is the dilemma of transition. Do it fast and there’s chaos, but do it slow and there’s baked-in resistance to change.
You are correct... I think. One thing I've gained with age is humility and lack of certainty. For decades I was CERTAIN that getting proportional representation in the US was the best thing to achieve. I was quite certain. I am now equally convinced that sortition is the thing to achieve... but am actively AVOIDING expressing certainty about it, because I also know I am fallible and can be wrong. (But I definitely won't argue with somebody who expresses certainty about the need to transition to sortition rapidly)
Thanks Terry. I too am losing my certainty with many of the things I thought for sure were right when I was younger. But I’m also losing my patience with attempting some things. I want to know before I’m gone!