02-19-2018, 10:20 AM | #101 |
Join Date: Jun 2006
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Re: Exotic Governmental/Legal Systems
More like multi-sided mutually assured destruction. If anybody was ever so foolish as to reveal something, the discredited party can reveal what he knows about *every* other noble house. Anybody in the pool can set off a general revolution that destroys the entire system at any time.
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-- MA Lloyd |
02-19-2018, 11:11 AM | #102 |
Join Date: Dec 2007
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Re: Exotic Governmental/Legal Systems
A nominal democracy, but one in which there is no proscription on giving legislators and bureaucrats "gifts" in return for favourable treatment.
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02-19-2018, 11:16 AM | #103 | |
Join Date: Feb 2007
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Re: Exotic Governmental/Legal Systems
Quote:
Rule By Practical Experience: A variation on the competitive examination principle: A very large society might set aside certain cities, and assign candidates for higher office to actually run them. Whoever does the best job of running the 'test city' moves up the ladder. For ex, successfully govern Des Moines for 5 years and you get to be Governor. Of course that leaves the issue of who makes the determination of 'success' and its definitions. I don't think it would work, or not for long, but I could imagine it being tried and running for a little while. It has some real world precedent in heirs apparent being given a fief to run as practice for the crown.
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02-19-2018, 12:01 PM | #104 |
Join Date: Jun 2006
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Re: Exotic Governmental/Legal Systems
I don't see why it couldn't run forever. Strip out the odd designated "test" cities concept and it's a standard meritocracy - you promote the people who've done a good job at junior positions into a senior ones as they open up.
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-- MA Lloyd |
02-19-2018, 09:33 PM | #105 |
Join Date: Feb 2007
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Re: Exotic Governmental/Legal Systems
But the 'test cities' is the exotic concept. Otherwise, as you say, it's ordinary meritocracy and doesn't fit the thread concept.
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02-20-2018, 10:05 AM | #106 |
Join Date: Jun 2006
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Re: Exotic Governmental/Legal Systems
I don't see why the test cities are problematic though. You promote only from the best a particular set of positions is completely normal - usually its only from those positions directly subordinate and one rank under the slot you are filling, but having a different limited list doesn't seem weird enough to make the system in any way less stable or functional.
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-- MA Lloyd |
02-20-2018, 10:14 AM | #107 |
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Meifumado
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Re: Exotic Governmental/Legal Systems
What if the test cities serve no other purpose than to be training grounds for rulers. They're set up as crucibles to generate elite masters in the art of governance.
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02-20-2018, 11:37 AM | #108 | |
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Portland, Oregon
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Re: Exotic Governmental/Legal Systems
Quote:
Another problem is there is no way the test can be made fair. An incompetent or tyrant will wreck a city and a really competent guy will ensure that his successor really has to work to fail. The grading commitee needs some kind of way to allow for this. Also on some theories of thought the hands off approach works best and it certainly does on this or that occasion in any event. Will the fact of being a test prejudice the testee in favor of working harder then a real procurator should? And come to think of it how will the citizens behave if they know it is a test. If for instance the procurator is unpopular they will deliberately riot as often as possible just to sink his score and vice-versa. But popularity is not a total measure of effectiveness and if we assume it to be so it is just a democracy. In any event it sounds a lot like a Roman Path of Honors.
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"The navy could probably win a war without coffee but would prefer not to try"-Samuel Eliot Morrison Last edited by jason taylor; 02-20-2018 at 11:41 AM. |
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02-20-2018, 12:19 PM | #109 | |
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
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Re: Exotic Governmental/Legal Systems
Quote:
Unless of course it's a simulated city. Rulership by victory in rpg/boardgame :) |
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02-20-2018, 12:35 PM | #110 |
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: near London, UK
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Re: Exotic Governmental/Legal Systems
This reminds me of the towns that get used for test-marketing, because their populations match the distribution of the target population. In the UK, this was Swindon (may still be, I don't know). Apparently the numbers started to diverge from the population of the UK as a whole, because the inhabitants of Swindon had got used to lots of free samples, new product launches, etc., all the time, and were no longer impressed by them…
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