Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!linus!wivax!decvax!ittvax!swatt
From: swatt@ittvax.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.politics
Subject: Re: two points to ponder
Message-ID: <797@ittvax.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 19-Jun-83 22:23:39 EDT
Article-I.D.: ittvax.797
Posted: Sun Jun 19 22:23:39 1983
Date-Received: Mon, 20-Jun-83 01:47:43 EDT
References: ihnss.1563
Lines: 25

Regarding selection of legislators at random:

Athens had something like that, but the citizen population (non-female,
non-slave, Athenean-born) was small enough that "at random" practically
required a citizen to fill some office at least once in his life.

I once read a sci-fi book which postulated a society with a tri-cameral
legislature.  One house was composed of lawmakers and passed laws in
a fairly traditional manner.  Another house had the sole function of
repealing laws whenever the total number of enacted laws exceeded some
fixed maximum.  The final house was called the "house of dunces", and
consisted only of those people who could prove they had no particular
expertise in law or government.  Their sole function was to rule on the
"comprehensibility" of the laws passed by the first house.  If they
couldn't figure out what the law meant, it got vetoed.

If the first house wanted to pass a new law and the number of existing
laws was at the limit, they had to convince the second house to repeal
a law or two.  Not only did you have to get support for your new law,
but you had to get agreement on which old law got removed.  Sort of a
"balanced budget" approach to statutes.

Sounded like a pretty interesting system to me.

	- Alan S. Watt