[liberationtech] Israel's new direct party

[Andre Rebentisch]

Am 21.05.2011 11:37, schrieb 10 com:
> Dear Andre,
> 
> We're not accuinted with the term '*occidental parliamentary democracy.
> Can you sewnd links to articles where this is explained , or explain
> yourself, thx

Dear Emma,

Occident = in cold war terms "The West".

When I speak of "occidental parliamentary democracy" I acknowledge that
other civilizations may be better suited by other political systems to
achieve the objectives of democracy.

Free mandate vs. delegated mandate,
in French "Mandat représentatif" vs. "Mandat impératif"

Shall elected representatives be independent/free or bound by their
constituency?

It's an old debate, for instance E. Burke advocated for a free mandate:
"Parliament is not a congress of ambassadors from different and hostile
interests; which interests each must maintain, as an agent and advocate,
against other agents and advocates; but parliament is a deliberative
assembly of one nation, with one interest, that of the whole;"

Discomfort with parliamentarianism is often expressed by attempts to
a) improve the voting system to make MPs more representative of the
constituency. We know no perfect voting system exists but there is an
option for statistically perfect representation, and that is random choice.
b) add elements of direct democracy where the constituency takes the
burden to vote/decide (cmp. switzerland, ECI)
c) add other balance criteria e.g. gender
d) add means of control of the representatives, e.g. votewatch,
transparency, anti-corruption measures

What is overlooked is the role of Parliament as an institution in a
concert of other governmental bodies. As Parliament is the visible face
of the political system "pro-democracy reformers" often undermine
parliament powers instead of advocating for more weight and control
powers of Parliament or stimulating the contributions of the interested
public.

A perfect servant does what you want and does not consult you all the time.

--- A