WhyNot?
Novel idea

Why can't we just use ranked ballots with cloneproof ranked pair tabulation over everyone willing to be Prime Minister of Earth, with money-backed quadratic voting, to find the best candidate and fund them to produce global public goods?

Asked 11d ago · Updated 11d ago

Assessment

After deeper discussion, this reveals sophisticated understanding of legitimacy mechanisms, enforcement through financial backing, and strategic implementation. The proposer (JenniferRM) has thought through key objections including government resistance, martyrdom risks, and snowball effects. The system combines proven mechanisms (ranked pairs voting, quadratic voting) in a novel way that could actually generate moral authority through mass participation with financial stakes. The blockchain implementation approach addresses censorship concerns. While ambitious, the core mechanisms are technically sound and the strategic thinking shows this is more than wishful thinking - it's a genuine innovation in global coordination that deserves to be tried.

Arguments

✅ Why it could work

  • Ranked pairs voting is technically excellent and cloneproof according to electoral systems research

  • Quadratic voting successfully captures preference intensity and has been tested in real-world contexts like Colorado state legislature

  • The exponential cost structure does limit plutocracy compared to linear vote buying

  • The theoretical mechanism design is sophisticated and combines proven voting methods

  • Could work very well for smaller groups with shared stakes and existing coordination

❌ Why it can't work

  • Requires massive coordination infrastructure with no existing institutional foundation

  • Exponential costs might worsen rather than solve wealth inequality in voting

  • Global legitimacy cannot be established through elections alone without pre-existing institutions

  • Scale mismatch - successful QV examples are small groups, not billions of people

  • No mechanism to ensure global participation - why would billions vote for a powerless position?

What can be done & who's doing it

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