″Every vote
counts″
Because all
citizens are equal,
the vote of every
citizen has the same value.
Here however there
is indeed a problem,
because it could
happen that on the specific
issue to be decided
upon, citizen A has a
direct interest and is well-informed,
while
citizen B has no
interest and absolutely no knowledge.
Is it right for
the votes of both
to have the same importance?
Our
goal is to avoid mistakes,
not to satisfy the
desire
of every who wants
to "steer the ship".
If a decision
has to be made
on a specific
problem
that requires special
knowledge
(and
unfortunately, most of
our problems are of
this kind),
who is most likely
to make
the wrong decision?
He
•
who
lives with the problem,
•
who
has examined it,
•
who
has long experience of the
peculiarities that
accompany it,
•
who
perhaps has made special studies,
or the one
•
who
hears of the existence of
such a problem for the
first time?
Suppose
we are going to vote
on a
bill concerning
education.
One is a teacher.
•
He
studied pedagogy.
•
He
has worked for
years in a school.
•
He
lives with the problems
of education every day.
The other is a
mining engineer.
•
He
knows incredibly
much about geology.
•
He
is able to organise
the safest and most
efficient
operation of a mine.
Whose point of
view
is most likely to
be correct?
I think you will
agree
that we will have
to take the opinion of
the teacher very
seriously into account.
It may even be
that the engineer
himself tells us:
"Guys, excuse me, but on this problem of
education
I have no
knowledge and I can’t give an opinion".
Of course,
if the bill referred
to mines,
we should listen
carefully
to the opinion of the engineer.
― So what do
you suggest we do?
Should we divide people into
first-class citizens,
who will be
allowed to have an opinion,
and
second-class citizens who would not?
Of course not.
What we should be
considering
is a system of
modern direct democracy
where every citizen has
the right to have
his opinion and to
express it with his vote.
But where the vote
of every citizen has a different weight,
depending on how
informed he is on the specific question.