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139 points stubish | 3 comments | | HN request time: 0.414s | source
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azov ◴[] No.44440379[source]
I wonder if technical complexity of implementing online age checks is about the same as implementing a robust direct democracy system - one where people can vote down bad laws instead of outsourcing those decisions wholesale to politicians they don’t even like?..
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1. ggm ◴[] No.44440400[source]
I predict Lower.

Unrelated, but why I don't agree:

The systems which permit voting down stupid laws also permit voting down good laws. This is very "be careful what you wish for" and reductive to "the voter is always right even when they want stupid things" interpretation of democracy.

E.g. Swiss cantons opposing votes for women inside the last 2 decades.

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2. _Algernon_ ◴[] No.44440461[source]
They don't have to be always right, just be right more often than a representative democracy.
3. azov ◴[] No.44440463[source]
Well, direct democracy already exists in various forms (e.g., referendums, propositions on California ballots, etc.). Sometimes bad decisions are made, but I wouldn’t call it a total disaster. Can it be improved through technical means? How much improvement would it take for it to be better than the status quo?