Fluir nº1 - Renascimentos - 2018
Figure 5 - The Great Council chamber
in the Ducal Palace
Some of the above features are compatible with the
cherished goals of Western democracies such as equal
opportunities, rule of law and popular sovereignty.
Others are not; the use of electoral colleges drawn by
lot is incompatible with the ideal of one person, one
vote. There could be ways around such difficulties; a
mixed regime that retained universal suffrage for some
posts could be envisaged. But it is legitimate to ask why
the application of principles of the now-dead Venetian
Republic to the modern era should even be considered.
In the words of Churchill, is not the current democratic
system “the worst form of government, except for all
the others”, meaning the best possible form? In
practice, the dictum has so far proven to be true, but
two hundred years is very young on the timescale of the
Venetian Republic. Several risks for Representative
Democracy can already be discerned, for example;
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·Increasing power of special interests – There is a
vicious circle whereby sectoral interests increase their
income by buying favorable legislation from both
current and potential governing parties, thereby
enabling them to afford to buy more influence. Sectoral
interests are plural and exists in many areas such as
political parties, professional bodies, business,
agriculture, healthcare, local, etc. Some have rich
beneficiaries while others have middle class members,
but all have in common the increasing exploitation of
outsiders, including those in their areas.
·Difficulty in adapting to changing circumstances – A
direct effect of the cross-party dominance of special
interests is paralysis of government regardless of which
party is in power. Over decades a vast body of
legislation has been accreted, designed to deliver the
loopholes and favors to the various clients.
Special interests ensure unfavorable laws are hard to
enact. The space for decisions that do not clash with
the existing legislation is reduced since their annulment
or modification would also hurt those interests.
·Rise of automation –A rise in permanent
unemployment due to technology is one such risk of
changed circumstances. So far technological
innovations have created more new jobs than were lost.
But there is no demonstrable law that this must always
be the case; self-driving vehicles, automated
manufacturing and sophisticated “white collar”
software could create a perfect storm, eliminating a
catastrophic number of jobs. Western countries may be
able to provide a minimum standard of living but a
serious psychological challenge could arise; can the
permanently non-working population lead meaningful
lives and will the working elite be prepared to foot the
bill without some reward such as exclusive access to
power?
·Alienation from the political process – There is a
growing suspicion among Western electorates that
governments are increasingly aloof. This is correctly
attributed to capture by special interests, but the
wealthy “elites” fingered are the conspicuous tip of the
iceberg. The remaining special interests are often
successful in channeling voter dissatisfaction to further
enhance their position. The result is frustration and
either the total dis-engagement, manifested by high
voter abstentions, pervasive tax avoidance and more
emigration, or increased voting for extremist parties
that are only capable of destruction.
·Local independence movements and the breakup of
traditional nation states –Some Western Europeans can
also “check out” through separatism. Whilst the
material benefits claimed may be exaggerated, it is