We're all talking about democracy, so let me give you my take.
I imagine a system in which, several times each election cycle, communities and workplaces get together to discuss pressing issues and what should be done about them, to debate, to be heard by their local representative and relayed up through the higher ranks whose job it is to do something about it on a wider scale. These representatives are elected by, and from, the locals themselves — they're a friend, a neighbour, someone you already know, whose door you can literally go to and bang on if they aren't doing their job, and who might not even belong to a political party, so their main focus is you. They don't campaign, they just say their platform after being nominated by a member of your community, so they can't be bought out. I figure this marries direct democracy together with a larger representative system that keeps things cohesive and efficient (rather than putting every single change to a national referendum). Of course, the really big changes, like changes to the constitution are put to a national referendum, but the smaller stuff can be handled by reps with regular counsel of their districts.
The reason I'm so confident in this system is because it already exists, and it works really damn well, in countries with 80% or higher government approval ratings. You just probably aren't going to like which countries those are.
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Cade the Cat
in reply to Comrade Ferret • • •Comrade Ferret
in reply to Cade the Cat • •Cuba was the first one I was thinking of in particular, since it recently had that constitutional referendum, but those based on the system championed by the Soviet Union use something similar, including modern-day Vietnam and North Korea. I wanted to give stats on Cuba, though apparently their approval rating has gone down in the last few years, basically since covid hit, so I admittedly can't use that. I was going off the stats that existed around the referendum, just before the virus hit. aljazeera.com/news/2019/2/26/c… (linking a very anti-Cuba article, which ignores the amazingly progressive family law included in this new constitution, for emphasis)
North Korea's people continue to approve of their government at over that 80% rate, even according to defectors, western propagandists, and others who would probably benefit from a narrative that the governing body is actually unpopular with the people. They don't allow external observers in their political system, but we know at least that their local councils and electoral system continue to work this way, and in interviews with their people, they tend to be very politically aware and involved.
I would talk about Vietnam, but truth be told I know rather little about it, and can't find its approval ratings elsewhere. China's government approval rating is also consistently above 80%, but they use a system that has deviated somewhat from the above formula due to rural conditions and Mao's favour towards the peasant class during the revolution, so it isn't my favourite example.
Cubans approve new constitution affirming role of socialism
Al Jazeera