Voting Should Be Conditional
How most people are incapable of voting coherently
Our age is one of rampant populism, which by definition is popular. Ordinary people rush to embrace infantile lies because (unlike complex reality) the lies don’t require any mental effort. The results are impressive: Putin, Erdogan, Brexiteers, Trump, Bolsonaro, Orban, Modi, Meloni, and soon Le Pen and far too many other cynical incompetents to name all shaping the destinies of their nations and destroying everything they touch.
Obviously any system of government that reliably produces such low-quality outcomes isn’t fit for purpose in our modern complex interconnected world. The reason representative democracy fails is because it is qualification-free. Any moron can stand for election and any moron can vote.
This is quite exceptional, in the literal sense of the word, because in nearly every other aspect of our lives we have to demonstrate competence before being granted a privilege.
If we want to drive a vehicle we have to pass a rudimentary driving test. If we want to charge money to wire or plumb someone’s house, we have to gain the necessary certifications. If we want to practice dentistry or surgery we have to undertake extensive training and then be certified. The list of professions for which demonstrations of competence are…
