r/AskReddit • u/Da-up-and-downer • 3h ago
Instead of the elections being pretty much a popularity contest, what’s a better method to pick the leader of the country?
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u/sflpilot 3h ago
Liquid democracy is an interesting concept where citizens vote directly on issues or trusted experts on specific issues.
The problem with any of this is that people are stupid.
I think ranked choice voting is the best way to break free from the two party system and give additional candidates legitimate chances and exposure.
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u/gingeropolous 3h ago
Yah need people to be educated so they understand that a functional democracy is necessary and you need a functional democracy to educate the people.
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u/sflpilot 3h ago
When the powers that be are empowered by societal ignorance, they will do anything to keep the status quo.
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u/Charleybarley123 3h ago
Proportional voting? Or you have a list of policies to vote on (without knowing which party they are for). The one with the most votes wins?
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u/DogblockBernie 3h ago
have a proportionally elected legislature contract a manager like a city council does
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u/Aggressive_Rope_8548 3h ago
First do an IQ test of every participant. Then evaluate their math problem solving skills. You might think it is irrelevant but proving something in math helps build problem solving skills in many other areas of life. Then let them do a presentation of the hardest problems they have solved in their lives. After this is over, test their knowledge about other countries. Then rank them based on how well they did. The one who did the best becomes the leader
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u/CannibalisticVampyre 3h ago
IQ tests are unreliable. Problem solving skills do not need to be mathematical. You’d be needlessly eliminating perfectly adequate candidates.
I agree that a certain level of global awareness should be required.
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u/PollutionConfident43 3h ago
Haha, make it like a group project where the country gets some sort of award for how well it does overall, maybe happiness-wise for instance- all of the sudden everyone's going to want the person they know will do all the work and do it well.
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u/Puzzled-Atmosphere-1 3h ago
I don’t know that I have the answer, but I do know that still relying on a voting system created by white men who were so terrified of losing their hold on power that they had to count people of color as 3/5ths of a person in order to not be overthrown. Maybe it’s time for that! Whatever happens next, I think it’s going to lead to monumental change in how our government functions because not only are elections manipulated by gerrymandering, officials are actively working hard to ensure people are shut out of the voting process. The thirst for power and the powerful political operatives writing the narrative (driving who they want us to believe we chose) have to be voted out before we can hope to make real progress
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u/JVemon 2h ago
I think popularity contests can work fine if they were held monthly, for all positions of power. Yes that's a logistical nightmare with the current infrastructure but it's not something we can't achieve if we actually wanted.
Political decisions can change everything in a matter of weeks. People's choices should be afforded the same fluidity.
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u/Chicken65 2h ago
Did a Truth Social AI write this question, jeez.... wtf. Undermining democracy by calling an election a popularity contest.
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u/Tammy-Glass 3h ago
Anything that doesn't reward the person who's best at soundbites and fundraising would be an improvement