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Old 01-28-2018, 08:37 PM   #11
Anthony
 
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Default Re: Exotic Governmental/Legal Systems

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Originally Posted by whswhs View Post
Actually, no. In that formula, if aggregate lifetime taxes paid < arbitrary divisor, then the logarithm is a negative number.
The likely fix is to change the formula to vote = log (1 + aggregate lifetime taxes paid/arbitrary divisor). That's guaranteed >= 0.
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Old 01-28-2018, 08:53 PM   #12
whswhs
 
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Default Re: Exotic Governmental/Legal Systems

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The likely fix is to change the formula to vote = log (1 + aggregate lifetime taxes paid/arbitrary divisor). That's guaranteed >= 0.
It does imply, though, that if someone has never paid any taxes, their vote count is log (1) = 0. Is that the intent?
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Old 01-28-2018, 09:02 PM   #13
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Default Re: Exotic Governmental/Legal Systems

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It does imply, though, that if someone has never paid any taxes, their vote count is log (1) = 0. Is that the intent?
It certainly could be.
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Old 01-28-2018, 09:38 PM   #14
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Default Re: Exotic Governmental/Legal Systems

Republic of Tribes/Races/Families:

A society is made up of separate groups that remain separate, legally, generation after generation. That could be ethnic groups or family clans or whatever, but might fit esp. well in a society made up of non-interfertile races like some SF and fantasy settings.

The tribes (of whatever nature) are federated, and each tribe elects one representative to the council, regardless of population. They might live in separate cities or all mingle in cosmopolitan communities.

Or there might be two councils, one equal and one weighted by numbers, basically you'd have tribes as 'states' instead of territorial systems.

Weighted for the future: A democracy in which everybody has one vote, but parents have two, permanently, on the grounds that they have a vested interest in the society's future. They might gain still extra votes with more offspring, but that would produce a very different society than one in which parents just get an extra vote each for the fact of parenthood.

Deliberate instability: A democracy in which he member of the electorate has one vote, but every election, an additional number of votes (say 20% of the total) is distributed at random across the electorate. The idea would be to help keep stable coalitions and vested interests from dominating year after year, since the power base would shift by a fifth at random each time.

Alternatively, the legislative body might have 20% of its members up for reelection every year, but which 20% would be chosen at random. (You'd probably also need a formal term of office for any that luck out a lot, you have to stand for election every five years (or whatever) even if your number doesn't come up.)
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Old 01-29-2018, 12:05 AM   #15
David Johnston2
 
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Default Re: Exotic Governmental/Legal Systems

23. A cybernetic democracy where decisions are made by a collective intelligence to which every citizen with a brain implant computer contributes. Meaning of course that anyone without one (children and "luddites:) has no input into any social decisions.

24. A democracy where anyone under 75 is considered under age for any purpose except sexual consent, and don't have the vote.
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Old 01-29-2018, 02:31 AM   #16
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24. A democracy where anyone under 75 is considered under age for any purpose except sexual consent, and don't have the vote.
I don't think that could quite work, even for a short time, as written. But it might could if the vote was granted at 75 but most other aspects of majority came earlier. It would be a gerontocracy, and the other elements of majority might come in staggered stages through life.
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Old 01-29-2018, 07:06 AM   #17
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Default Re: Exotic Governmental/Legal Systems

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Taking a page from Robert Heinlein, this world allows the vote only to those persons who have received an Honorable Discharge from active duty of no less than [x] years (for whatever value of [x] you want). Similarly, all public offices (including the right and obligation to serve on a jury) are likewise restricted to this class of citizenship. All persons (legal residents, that is) enjoy full protection under the law, and are otherwise treated equally.

Franklin
Note that in Heinlein, "federal service" =/= "military service", and in fact it's pointed out that most people who sign up for Federal Service wind up processing paperwork in some back room or something equally unglamorous for their two-year term. The idea is simply that in order to earn full citizenship, you have to prove that you're willing to put the state's interests ahead of your own on occasion. (And most people living in the Terran Federation decline, not seeing the point in putting themselves out for such "fripperies" as voting or holding elective office.)

Continuing in theme:

- Elective constitutional monarchy: The royal family is elected. Any children are brought up to take the reins if necessary; however, when the current monarch dies, there is an election for the new royal family. The incumbent, who holds the throne while the election is organized and held, has an edge in the election, of course, as with any electoral system.

- Direct democracy. Issues are discussed in a nation- (or, one could suppose, planet-)wide information network, similar to our Internet; when decisions are made, all citizens are expected to vote on them, with strong social pressure to do so and to effectively ostracize those who feel it's too much to bother with.

Oh, and speaking of Heinlein:

- A bicameral elected legislature. One house passes laws, with a 2/3 majority needed for any decision; meanwhile, the other house is only permitted to consider removing laws, with a 1/3 minority needed. (The idea being that if you can't get 2/3 of the legislature behind an idea, it's probably a bad one, and if a law bothers a full third of the people, maybe it needs to go.)
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Old 01-29-2018, 07:27 AM   #18
malloyd
 
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Default Re: Exotic Governmental/Legal Systems

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Originally Posted by Anthony View Post
The likely fix is to change the formula to vote = log (1 + aggregate lifetime taxes paid/arbitrary divisor). That's guaranteed >= 0.
You probably wouldn't implement that with a mathematical function anyway. You set thresholds at which you were permanently granted additional votes. That allows you to adjust them relatively easily from time to time to account for stuff like inflation without incurring the wrath of people who would be losing votes if you do. It also makes it easy to integrate with other schemes for awarding additional votes for something other than straight up cash payments - maybe you want to reward volunteering for government service without having to actually pay large taxable salaries, or who take on other socially valuable but low paying careers.
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Old 01-29-2018, 08:29 AM   #19
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Default Re: Exotic Governmental/Legal Systems

Governance by professional organizations, like the american medical association, along with a collection of unions. Each organization has a limited ability to govern its own sphere of influence, and for larger matters more organizations may get involved. Disputes of spheres are brought before the body as a whole. New members or expansions of a sphere are decided by the whole. Sometimes they decide to not dilute their power and just make an existing organization handle the new matter, but at other times they make a new member so an existing body doesn't become too powerful.
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Old 01-29-2018, 08:54 AM   #20
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Default Re: Exotic Governmental/Legal Systems

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You probably wouldn't implement that with a mathematical function anyway. You set thresholds at which you were permanently granted additional votes. That allows you to adjust them relatively easily from time to time to account for stuff like inflation without incurring the wrath of people who would be losing votes if you do. It also makes it easy to integrate with other schemes for awarding additional votes for something other than straight up cash payments - maybe you want to reward volunteering for government service without having to actually pay large taxable salaries, or who take on other socially valuable but low paying careers.
Neville Shute had a multi-vote system in In the Wet. From the Wikipedia summary:

"Everyone gets a basic vote. Other votes can be earned for education (including a commission in the armed forces), earning one's living overseas for two years, raising two children to the age of 14 without divorcing, being an official of a Christian church, or having a high earned income. The seventh vote is only given at the Queen's discretion by Royal Charter."
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