Lessons Learned

[Stephen John Smoogen]

On 3/19/07, Mike McGrath <mmcgrath at redhat.com> wrote:
> What can we learn from this so we don't repeat it?
>
> http://linux.slashdot.org/linux/07/03/19/1522208.shtml
>
>     -Mike


This is a problem with pure democracies that show up time and time
again. Even in a democratic meritocracy it will show up at a certain
size of population. The reason seems to be the difference between the
theory of a democracy that people will get along if they are well
educated about the facts, and the reality that a certain segment of a
population will not get along no matter what. [It could be postulated
that these people are needed for any population center as they will
get fed up with how things are done here, and go explore elsewhere..
thus making sure that the population spreads or that new ideas are
invented etc.]

At a certain point in a 'purish democracy' people can gum up the works
badly by disempowering the leadership through various means. There are
multiple ways around this, [republics, federalism, etc], but in
essence they strengthen the leadership (while putting checks and
balances so that the leadership does not become a cult, dictatorship
etc)

So to learn this.. make sure you have a strong leadership that the
population feels they have needed checks on. How you accomplish this
(bi-cameral parliament, king for the year, etc) is up to the FAB to
decide.

-- 
Stephen J Smoogen. -- CSIRT/Linux System Administrator
How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed
in a naughty world. = Shakespeare. "The Merchant of Venice"