AW: [governance] ICANN/USG Affirmation of Commitments

["Kleinwächter, Wolfgang"]

Dear Paul 
 
you describe and defebnd the classical "representative democracy" of the 20th century. Good points. Very good points. 
 
However, in the complexity of the 21st century the "chain of representation" gets longer and looner and there is less and less a direct relationship between the input of the people and the output of a government. Do you really believe, that a diplomat sitting in a UN meeting and discussing very concrete and difficult technical issue represents "her/his people"? In the best way she/he follows the instructions from her/his capital. In the worst sense she/he is doing wha she/he wants because nobody controls her/him. If she/he is a good guy you get a good solution. If she/he is a bad guy it is sad and bad. 
 
What the Internet has enabled is to add a layer which can combine representative with participatory democracy. The principle of multistakeholderism is the very concrete outcome of this development. It is still very early and we are exploring how it could work. But going back to the past would be the wrong turn to meet the challenges of the future (with all respect to President Truman who also order the drop of the first nuclar bomb to Hiroshoma). 
 
Best wishes
 
wolfgang

________________________________

Von: Paul Lehto [mailto:lehto.paul at gmail.com]
Gesendet: Di 06.10.2009 18:52
An: governance at lists.cpsr.org; Avri Doria
Betreff: Re: [governance] ICANN/USG Affirmation of Commitments



Have you ever heard of the "consent of the governed?"  There's more
than one way that consent of the governed can be achieved, but nobody
seriously believes and defends the position publicly that there's any
legitimate political authority outside some nexus to *elections* among
the people (such as electing representatives who then elect
ambassadors or delegates to an ICANN board or congress, etc.)

Are you, Avri Doria, really saying what it seems you're saying:
Elections are too difficult in your mind so they will be dispensed
with, or can be, in the interest of efficiency?

In any case, as President Harry Truman said "If you want efficiency,
you'll get a dictatorship."

This is because Democracy's core values don't always dictate
efficiency.  In fact, things like separation of powers and checks and
balances are in fact redundant inefficiencies that a strongman
dictator could well streamline and save money and time on.  Democracy,
by contrast, is a commitment to serial public discussions and votes
(and therefore disputes) lasting... forever -- or at least as long as
freedom and democracy lasts.

Paul Lehto, Juris Doctor

On 10/6/09, Avri Doria <avri at psg.com> wrote:
>
> On 6 Oct 2009, at 11:57, Paul Lehto wrote:
>
>> The only
>> legitimate way to fully claim the public interest mantle is by having
>> a mandate via consent of the governed from the people as a whole.
>
>
> does this mean that until everyone in the world votes, ICANN will
> never be legitimate according to you?
>
> a.
>
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--
Paul R Lehto, J.D.
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Ishpeming, MI  49849
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906-204-4026
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