Here in the UK, we have a Queen and, theoretically at least, we are all governed on the basis of heredity. While our current monarch may be the bees-knees, some of her ancestors were questionable to say the least.
The problem with democracy is that a large proportion of the population always appears unhappy with the final result, and that proportion tends to grow over time.
Instead I propose that every year (or possibly two or three), all eligible electors names are placed into a big tombola, and one is drawn out. That person becomes King (or Queen depending on personal preference) until the next National Lottery (;-)).
The chosen person is in absolute power (except he cannot change the selection process), and has to act as the embodiment of his country. It doesn't matter how popular/unpopular he becomes as, shortly, he won't be King (or Queen) any longer.
Brings a whole new meaning to "when I rule the world"...-- PeterSilly, Jul 03 2002 A not-so-similar idea http://www.halfbake..._20Family_20LotteryRemarkably, washort annotated this not so similar idea with a similar idea to this one [[ sctld ], Jul 03 2002] Kings killed at the end of a fixed term http://www.sacred-t.../frazer/gb02403.htmExcerpt from _The Golden Bough_ [wiml, Jul 06 2002, last modified Oct 17 2004] This should be in Public : Royalty, or something along those lines.-- [ sctld ], Jul 03 2002 I would like to nominate [sctld]. King [Sctld] has a certain ring to it.-- po, Jul 03 2002 Indeed it does.
What happens if his/her name is pulled out of the tombola in 2 consecutive draws? Or would there be some safeguard to stop this happening? And what if they have a - literally - 100% approval rating? Then are they allowed to stay on for longer?-- NickTheGreat, Jul 03 2002 Power corrupts...-- calum, Jul 03 2002 Afterwards, they should be thrown into a volcano.-- pottedstu, Jul 03 2002 [po] The point is that you can't nominate somebody. The ruler is chosen at random. No money needs to be spent advertising how great you would be, as there is no way you can influence the result. Cheap elections - in fact they could make money because of the commercial breaks!
[NickTG] The chances of being selected twice in succession would be extremely small (unless you live in Liechtenstein or Zimbabwe). However I think that pottedstu may have the solution!-- PeterSilly, Jul 04 2002 po, I thought I was the official Scotsman who ruled over all of Canada. I've got a black watch and everything.-- thumbwax, Jul 04 2002 Zimbabwe has a population of about 12 million.-- calum, Jul 04 2002 sily me [silly].
[TW], yes your Royal Loftiness.-- po, Jul 04 2002 <twilight zone>Odd that [PeterSilly] should mention Zimbabwe. His sadly-departed almost-namesake is originally from there.</twilight zone>-- angel, Jul 05 2002 I was merely thinking that some unscrupulous politician who may happen to rule, say, Zimbabwe may attempt to rig the draw. Having a population of 12 million may render such a re-selection more unbelievable (ooo - politics).-- PeterSilly, Jul 05 2002 Ah, yes, [wiml], I believe my first idea here at the bakery (deleted when I decided to bonsai my account) was for annual ritual regicide as an alternative to the Trooping of the Colour in terms of drawing in tourists... with society debs having *turning out* parties in order to provide an adequate supply of blue-blooded brats. Needless to say, this went down really well... in the "like a brick" sense, that is. Ah well.
Anyhoo, on topic, having heads of state set by lottery is half-baked in a number of science fiction stories; I can't remember any titles off-hand but I'm thinking either Isaac Asimov or Philip K Dick.-- Guy Fox, Jul 06 2002 Potted, could we have that idea for all politicians? We'd only get the really committed ones then.-- dare99, Sep 09 2002 random, halfbakery