Can ordinary people run society?

Question

The legendary stupidity of George W. Bush, whose rich parents and crony friends bought him passing grades and much more, or the incompetence of Federal Emergency Management Agency bureaucrats during Hurricane Katrina in 2005 are both strong arguments against this view.

“I think we are welcomed,” said Bush when asked about Vice President Dick Cheney’s predictions that U.S. troops would be greeted with thanks by Iraqis. “But it was not a peaceful welcome.” When Brazilian President Luiz Ignácio “Lula” da Silva showed him a map of Brazil, Bush exclaimed, “Wow! Brazil is big.”

There are many other examples that could be cited of presidents, industrialists and bureaucrats with limited, if non-existent, abilities.

In our society nothing is done if it isn’t profitable. In a society run by the collective producers, these problems could be solved because social need, rather than the market, would determine how decisions are made.

Answer 1

Enlightenment, you're not seeing that government is an institution just like business. Governments won't exist or operate if they don't feel as though they are gaining strength or an edge in their interests just as much as businesses. It doesn't matter that a government isn't after profits, governments still do pursue influence and control through politics and culture.

Now by saying ordinary people should be in charge discards all of the progress made through specialization of labor and the natural talents which are bestowed upon us. As bad as Bush may be, Pol Pot and Mao Zedong were a ton worse in how they killed millions in order to standardize their industrial capacity. Basically, your sheer reference of believing in a generic ordinary people doesn't make sense because every individual has potential to grow into something great.

Now mind you, I do not approve of widespread cosmopolitan individualist ideals, but the reason for this is BECAUSE it instills conformity just as much as communism does. Humans cannot create a perfect overseeing system of management which knows all and can predict all even if it did infringe upon every civil liberty and freedom imaginable whether the institution is grounded in business OR politics.

So what's the solution? SCALE DOWN. Individuals should not be concerned over the well-being of everyone and the perfect management of a "society." Instead, everyone should work for their own existence and through sheer effort and design, those who deserve to prosper will and those who do no will not. We can argue about collateral damage and how life is unfair in so many regards, but remember that those who exploit aren't infallible. Punishment for immoral actions is only a matter of time regardless of if those actions are found out about or not.

I seriously suggest you read some of Ayn Rand's novels especially Atlas Shrugged. Many people believe she is cold-hearted and impersonable, but if you read the book for the plot and characters instead of trying to understand her view of humanity, you should come away with an appreciation of human potential rather than a depreciation for her libertarian ideal of objectivism.

Remember, SCALE DOWN. Don't worry about the world. Just worry about your own life and everything will fall into place.

Answer 2

Not at every level. Being able to explore the ethical consequences of an issue that affects everyone is very difficult and time consuming. Often this requires special training in Critical Reasoning, probability, statistics, and ethical evaluation.

Please help to establish a large, diverse, & representative ethical oversight committee for managing the National Security Agency (NSA)

The National Security Agency (NSA) by necessity currently collects information from ALL organizations without representative ethical oversight. This includes the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, National Guard, ALL Political Representatives, FEMA, Greenpeace, the Medical Community, Insurance Companies, Research Groups, domestic or abroad, ...

Unfortunately, special interest groups not representing All Americans currently have access to direct and use Confidential data collection; which affects everyone, not just the US. Imagine large corporations influencing the prosperity of businesses based upon racial criteria; the NSA makes this possible.

http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-YW18nxE7eqtd0CMJGCB94Xu4?p=57#comments

The NSA currently does not have a system (people and software) to parse the great amounts of information available to create prioritized situational awareness for the benefit of "representative ethical oversight". Imagine a corporation influencing all that is associated with a University research project, to force access, or force a sale of intellectual property at a significantly lower cost. Now expand the ability of this corporation to influence all businesses, everywhere.

Please support my initiative to establish a large and diverse representative ethical oversight committee for monitoring and managing the NSA.

http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-YW18nxE7eqtd0CMJGCB94Xu4?p=57#comments

Respectfully,

James Dunn

Answer 3

Ordinary people - if the society is perhaps 25 or fewer people, then some among them will be better leaders within their skillset than others. Even old 70s communes sometimes needed dollars to buy something they couldn't otherwise acquire, grow or make.

Answer 4

comprehend whilst this Quote replaced into theory-approximately and pronounced... Society immediately is diverse in maximum of extra methods than ever previously and there is further and further room for people who're mind-blowing... those human beings get Medals and/or are Stars and have followings...

Answer 5

Ordinary people are more often than not the ones who are able to do extraordinary things.