Toward a Rational Democratic Process: Difference between revisions

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== Toward a Rational Democratic Process==
This is the seed of what I hope will become a platform which assists larger communities with their decision making processes. The tools provided on this website are tools designed to help with a '''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rationality rational]''' and democratic decision making process. Helping people to connect, share information, resources and services is a much deeper democratic process than simply voting.  So the focus of this site is to link users with; news, research, organizations, businesses, items for sale, local barter groups, local worker's groups, small loans, local services, local businesses, non-profits, and governments, all in an organized fashion.
This is the seed of what I hope will become a platform which assists larger communities with their decision making processes. The tools provided on this website are tools designed to help with a '''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rationality rational]''' and democratic decision making process. Helping people to connect, share information, resources and services is a much deeper democratic process than simply voting.  So the focus of this site is to link users with; news, research, organizations, businesses, items for sale, local barter groups, local worker's groups, small loans, local services, local businesses, non-profits, and governments, all in an organized fashion.


Drawing from my knowledge and personal experience (granted, not the most extensive but sufficient) I have come up with the following outline of a communal rational discussion when pursuing a collective choice. I refer to these 3 steps as "If" "Then" "Therefore". The three steps should consist of the following elements:
The basic idea of this Wiki is to sort through as much information as possible that appears on the internet, then link to the most relevant parts for our Rational Democratic purposes, and organize those links in a fashion that is easily accessible.  


'''1. Presentation of an hypothesis including its assumed importance. ("If")'''
Drawing from my knowledge and personal experience (granted, not the most extensive but sufficient) I have come up with the following outline of a communal rational discussion when pursuing a collective choice. I refer to these 3 steps as "If" (the Past), "Then"(the Present), "Therefore" (the Future). The three steps should consist of the following elements:


This step is usually included in group and political discussions. However it is often truncated or disguised as a fact instead of a supposition. It is also posited with an emotional appeal or dressed up with a bit of decorative wordage. (example: President Trump hypothesizes; "If": crossing of the US southern border by undocumented immigrants is a major source of crime.)  
'''1. Establishing a base historical record of observations and assumptions upon which to build. ("If")'''


'''In this Wiki this step is included as "Foundational."'''  
This is the the historical background and agreed upon "realities" of a particular topic. The assumptions, suppositions, and recorded observations upon which future decisions can be based and the prism through which present-day events can be viewed.
'''In this Wiki this step is included as "Foundational."''' The historical record should be placed in this category.


'''2. Collection and organization of unbiased relevant data. ("Then")'''  
'''2. Collection and organization of unbiased relevant data. ("Then")'''  


This process is commonly omitted in group and political discussions. This process can be slow and labor intensive and can sometimes conflict with the posited hypothesis. These realities make it convenient to gloss over this step without thorough research. (example: President Trump brings the data of individual anecdotes to support his above hypothesis. "Then": Stories of individual US citizens killed by undocumented immigrants. This is a weak source of data, especially when broader more encompassing research is available. In this case the more encompassing research shows undocumented immigrants commit crimes at a lower rate than US citizens.)
Much of what we consider to be "news", really consists of one person saying one thing and another person saying something else. For this Wiki I would like to weed out this kind of "news" and focus on a more durable observational type of information. I use the test; is it "durable", "pertinent" and "unemotional" (note: unemotional, is very different than stating both the "left" and the "right" opinions). Very little "news" actually meets this test. This Wiki shouldn't concern itself with the activities of celebrities, the opinions of politicians, or the ramblings of other propagandists. Everyone seems to have a personal agenda, the agenda here is the empirical process.  
 
'''In this Wiki this step is included as "Effects" or "News".''' The present day observations which will soon become the past should be placed in this category.
'''In this Wiki this step is included as "News".'''
 
'''3. Drawing conclusions. ("Therefore")'''
'''3. Drawing conclusions. ("Therefore")'''


This is the endpoint that most group and political discussions are trying to achieve. Unfortunately this "solution" is worthless without first a clear presentation of hypothesis and an accumulation and organization of relevant data. (Example: President Trump concludes "Then": that a tall wall on the US southern border will reduce undocumented immigration substantially and therefore reducing crime substantially as well. In this example he dwells on the "solution" without a proper presentation of hypothesis ("If") and only the barest and emotional glance at data ("Then").  
We often see this step presented as opinion or editorial. Again most opinion and editorial does not adopt a rigorous empirical "If", "Then", "Therefore" process before reaching conclusions. So in general it is best for this Wiki to not include opinion pieces of a general nature but stick with more scientific oriented research papers or discoveries.
 
'''In this Wiki this step is included as "Solutions".''' Glimpses or guesses about what the future holds, and ideas for improvement should be placed in this category.
'''In this Wiki this step is included as "Solutions".'''  
 
So by these measurements President Trump's attempt at a rational democratic discussion of undocumented immigration falls short. It is neither democratic nor is it rational.

Latest revision as of 11:05, 26 May 2020

This is the seed of what I hope will become a platform which assists larger communities with their decision making processes. The tools provided on this website are tools designed to help with a rational and democratic decision making process. Helping people to connect, share information, resources and services is a much deeper democratic process than simply voting. So the focus of this site is to link users with; news, research, organizations, businesses, items for sale, local barter groups, local worker's groups, small loans, local services, local businesses, non-profits, and governments, all in an organized fashion.

The basic idea of this Wiki is to sort through as much information as possible that appears on the internet, then link to the most relevant parts for our Rational Democratic purposes, and organize those links in a fashion that is easily accessible.

Drawing from my knowledge and personal experience (granted, not the most extensive but sufficient) I have come up with the following outline of a communal rational discussion when pursuing a collective choice. I refer to these 3 steps as "If" (the Past), "Then"(the Present), "Therefore" (the Future). The three steps should consist of the following elements:

1. Establishing a base historical record of observations and assumptions upon which to build. ("If")

This is the the historical background and agreed upon "realities" of a particular topic. The assumptions, suppositions, and recorded observations upon which future decisions can be based and the prism through which present-day events can be viewed. In this Wiki this step is included as "Foundational." The historical record should be placed in this category.

2. Collection and organization of unbiased relevant data. ("Then")

Much of what we consider to be "news", really consists of one person saying one thing and another person saying something else. For this Wiki I would like to weed out this kind of "news" and focus on a more durable observational type of information. I use the test; is it "durable", "pertinent" and "unemotional" (note: unemotional, is very different than stating both the "left" and the "right" opinions). Very little "news" actually meets this test. This Wiki shouldn't concern itself with the activities of celebrities, the opinions of politicians, or the ramblings of other propagandists. Everyone seems to have a personal agenda, the agenda here is the empirical process. In this Wiki this step is included as "Effects" or "News". The present day observations which will soon become the past should be placed in this category.

3. Drawing conclusions. ("Therefore")

We often see this step presented as opinion or editorial. Again most opinion and editorial does not adopt a rigorous empirical "If", "Then", "Therefore" process before reaching conclusions. So in general it is best for this Wiki to not include opinion pieces of a general nature but stick with more scientific oriented research papers or discoveries. In this Wiki this step is included as "Solutions". Glimpses or guesses about what the future holds, and ideas for improvement should be placed in this category.

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