Does Democracy Inhibit Long-Term Thinking?

Complete video at: http://fora.tv/2010/02/01/Long-Term_Thinking_in_the_Next_10000_Years

Is democracy less conducive to long-term thinking as compared to other forms of government, such as monarchy? Alexander Rose, Executive Director of The Long Now Foundation, says yes. He describes democracy as a "churning system" that has inherent limits when trying to adequately plan for problems in the distant future.

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Long Finance is an initiative begun in 2007 to establish a World Centre Of Thinking On Long-Term Finance. The initiative began with a question - ­"When would we know our financial system is working?" - which challenges a system that can't provide today's 20-year-olds with a reliable financial retirement structure. The aim of the Long Finance Institute is "to improve society's understanding and use of finance over the long-term."

The research project proposals range from theory versus practice or fiscal versus monetary to sustainability versus robustness. The iconic project for Long Finance is the Eternal Coin, with the objective of starting a global debate about society's values over the long-term.

This is the second event that Gresham College has co-hosted, where learning from the sister Long Now organization and its 10,000 Year Clock Project.

As the director of the Long Now Foundation, Alexander Rose has facilitated projects such as the 10,000 Year Clock with Danny Hillis, the Rosetta Project, Long Bets, Seminars About Long Term Thinking, Long Server and others. Rose shares several design patents on the 10,000 Year Clock with Danny Hillis, the first prototype of which is in the Science Museum of London.

Hired as the first employee of the foundation in February of 1997, Rose has been an artist in residence at Silicon Graphics Inc., a project manager for Shamrock Communications, and a founding partner of Inertia Labs. Rose attended the Art Center College of Design and graduated with a bachelor of arts honors degree from Carnegie Mellon University in Industrial Design in 1995.

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[eirefrance]

I think he's just saying we should be aware of the drawbacks inherent and inevitable in our system of government. Its like the security vs. freedom, wealth vs. equality and many of the other dichotomies in modern society. If you want one, be ready for the side effects. And I don't think people are, capt obvious or not. The voting public want their cake and want to eat it to. I think the message in this video is one that should really be hammered home.

[hartmut1164]

An extreme example is Switzerland with its collective all-party government, but also Germany with its federalist system in which the opposition sits still in the state governments running with all kinds of coalitions, leading defacto to an all-party government, not changing the main line of politics since 1949.

[hartmut1164]

It depends how you organize a democracy: If, as in the UK, a party gains normally the total control of the state apparatus after winning an election in no need to formulate long-term goal with the opposition you will have always a tendency of not planning further than the next election.

If the system is setup in a way that all parties had to cooperate and find compromises than they are more engaged in long term planning. (cont.)

[MikDonsen]

For the record the rich in America do act as monarchs. The majority inherit their wealth like gw bush. Please children lets not spend days arguing over basic political science. It's clear in the day in age that non democracies are able to compete in a direct way. Just look at dubai. It's doing very well compared to new democracies. People vote by choosing to move there. Plz liberals don't talk about living condition unless your comparing them to their homes.

[WERTY1112]

@k166a exactly, the bald dude in this video seems to be lacking the very thing he discusses: Long term thinking.

[k166a]

The founding fathers planned for things hundreds of years in advance, yet accepted short term positions.

It's all about how much a leader loves his country and how mature he can be.

[Mastikator]

But how do you make sure that the monarch is a good ruler to begin with? Oh wait, you don't. A monarch is arbitrarily chosen from birth, his competency and goodwill is completely crapshoot.

That's why they needed to make up bullshit about the divine rights of kings, because they couldn't demonstrate that the kings did anything of actual value for those they leeched.. uh I mean ruled.

[WillSKB88]

If the idea is good enough, the democratic parties would be happy to keep taking it on board, thereby allowing it to mutate and be purposely altered As Well As being under constant scrutiny.

Fundamentally, this could not happen in a monarch because the underlying philosophies/ethics will lead to similar conclusions.

[Rickdeckard2020]

Planning, but for the benefit of whom? the people or the oligarchs?

1- unrepresentative regimes dont necessarily plan LT

2- the UK is in decline, not planning for LT, the wealth is transferred from the people to the elite at a rate that is not sustainable

3- What is labeled democracy is in many cases a form of Oligarchy in disguise, fake democracy, few nations are representative of people will, but some are a little and the living standard/quality of life is usually better for average citizens

[Rickdeckard2020]

4- Fake democracy relies on propaganda, the Oligarchs use the MSM to MISLEAD the people into supporting Oligarch policy, and the people are simply ignored when they come to their senses. WAR, people lied into supporting it, when against it are just ignored, w Obama troops still in Iraq, FED cartel still controls the Treasury and SEC, COG and PAtriot Act in place, etc

Governing by Polls, polls are just used to know what Lies to push, it doesnt change policy