Re: [Membership] James Fishkin proposes Internet Deliberative Council

["Mark R. Measday" <measday@ibm.net>]

Whilst applauding  many aspects of this model, do I understand these random
users undertake to remain anonymous to avoid 'capture'?

If I have read the text correctly, deliberative polling is a sampling technique
for one time questioning, not continuous representation.

Also the problem of anonymity remains, in terms of identifying whether the
pollee (?) is the same as last time, has been influenced by (i) outside forces
i.e.captured by interest (ii) has learned too much to be representative of the
sample or (iii) changed in some other way.

Why not take the model, but submit it to a new randomly selected deliberative
group anonymously each time there is a decision to be made. Confers great power
to the group of people assembling the results, but is otherwise complicit with
vox populi and the  principles stated by professor Fishkin.

A variant of this approach is I believe used in some large organizations and
societies where it is known that the obvious decision makers will be 'got',
therefore the decisions are pushed down to those who appear to be compos mentis
or uninvolved. There are obvious risks in appearing compos mentis in a possible
reference group under these initial conditions of course.

MM

Wendy Seltzer wrote:

> A new membership model, suggested by University of Texas Professor James
> Fishkin, would select a random sample of Internet users to participate in a
> deliberative council.  The selected members would be briefed from all
> viewpoints and deliberate as a group before voting for directors or giving
> consulations on issues of public interest.
>
> This model, Fishkin proposes, would reach the decisions that the majority
> of Internet users (or other defined group) would make if fully informed.
> It also attempts to reach the _public_ interest, to avoid capture by a
> self-selected group or lobby.  He suggests that the Deliberative Poll, on
> which his model is based, reaches more representative, participatory, and
> democratic decisions.
>
> A fuller description of Fishkin's model is online at
> http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/rcs/fish.html
>
> --Wendy Seltzer
> Wendy Seltzer
> Berkman Center for Internet & Society           617-496-0089
> Harvard Law School, Cambridge, MA 02138
> wseltzer@law.harvard.edu || wendy@seltzer.com
> Representation in Cyberspace: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/rcs/

--



Mark Measday
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