[ExI] Effectiveness of democracy as a result of selection bias

[Mirco Romanato]

Henrique Moraes Machado ha scritto:
> Rafal> ### From my point of view, democracy is a crappy tool, to be used
> only
>> until enough people grow up and are capable of making a better
>> society.
> 
> The very concept of state comes IMHO from the necessity to cope with
> scarcity of resources. To get rid of democracy, and every other form of
> government, it's necessary first to reach a post-scarcity society type.
> This all in theory, because I really don't know if us apes can exist
> without some kind of politics. And there's also the possibility that
> once we attain this post-scarcity society (if...) we won't have anything
> to do other than politics...

Well, a near libertarian society existed in Iceland for centuries.
I don't believe they were a post-scarcity society.
The libertarianism worked because there was a small population in the
island and the population density was small. Any group / government
trying to impose its will would had destroyed the economy (causing a
large die-off of the population) and would cause it own destruction for
lack of subjects to exploit.

Where the land allowed larger populations and greater densities of
population, the controlling of the population by a small group become
easier. An army could be formed only by the 1% of the population and it
could be able to enforce its domination over all the population, if the
population lack weapons and organization to resist.

One of the reason of Europe success in the past was the fragmentation in
small states. Being too small forced the kings and princes to keep taxes
low, be liberal enough to prevent their people from voting with their
feet and move to another kingdom with a better ruler.

A transhumanist society with an advantage for the individual against the
state would result in a freer society, where an advantage for the state
to control the individuals would produce a less free society.

Mirco