[Bx6667]

Didn’t read the article but I met a Swiss guy at a hostel the other day. He told me how citizens can prompt a vote on almost any issue — almost a direct democracy, in his words. He said that a vote was successfully prompted to limit the gap between the salaries of ceos and low level employees. It was voted down. My only remark was that if the United States had a system like that, the country would promptly destroy itself.

[xorfish]

How would the country destroy itself?

[Bx6667]

By voting through feel-good proposals that are ultimately misinformed and destructive. It’s happening anyway through our indirect democracy but at a slower rate.

[xorfish]

That is not what is happening in Switzerland. There isn't reallya reason why ot would play out differently in the USA.

The beginning might be turbulent, but that should cha.ge after a few years

[evilos]

I would guess the Swiss population is generally more educated on average compared to the American public, which to be fair is easier to achieve with a population of 9M vs 328M. A sufficiently educated public is a requirement for a more direct democracy to have desirable results.

America really needs an education system overhaul, teachers are often paid close to fast food restaurant staff levels of wages.

[soco]

If you have a working education system, it will work exactly the same for 9 and for 300 million people. Its not about size but about the approach.