Conversation

Balaji Srinivasan
@balajis
Consensual government is a superset of democracy. Democracy’s legitimacy comes from the consent of the people. That consent can be given by voting with ballot, feet, wallet, or some combination thereof. The key is that people have opted in and given manifest, conscious consent.
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Balaji Srinivasan
@balajis
Put another way, if consensual government is a superset of democracy, the design space for legitimate governments that reflect the manifest, ongoing consent of the governed is larger than one might think. Key ingredient being consent, more than a particular form of government.
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Balaji Srinivasan
@balajis
Conversely, a nominal “democracy” may not retain consent of the governed. If you could somehow carry out a representative poll of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, those who aren’t brainwashed may want to leave. Point: calling oneself a democracy doesn’t make you one.
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Jesse Powell
@jespow
The gov should grant each citizen a relocation package, or at least a one-way flight out in order to have a shred of legitimate authority.
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Jesse Powell
@jespow
Yeah, lots of people are super mobile now. Tough thing might be giving up local friends/family to relocate. Also, I like living around a lot of diversity. I wonder if a bunch of people moving in to completely intentional community would get boring.
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