Are nation states/Is the U.S. in particular just too big for democracy to work?

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Not that I think there is a better alternative, but sometimes I think that it's just impossible for an individual citizen to truly be involved with what governments are doing, when those governments do so much. There is so much to keep track of. Obviously the earliest democracies weren't on anything near to the scale of current democratic nation states. Is it possible to an informed citizen anyway, because there are larger patterns that can be recognized, even without all the details?

(Are my question too vague?)

― Rockist Scientist, Monday, 16 December 2002 18:15 (twenty-three years ago)

Aristotle was of the opinion that the effective upper limit on the size of a democracy was roughly 30,000 voters. He was probably right.

As for whether the USA government 'works', it is difficult to say. If complacency is the measure of success, the USA works very well. But, what are we to measure to decide this question?

― Aimless, Monday, 16 December 2002 19:03 (twenty-three years ago)

(Rockist, you know the conservative answer to your question would be "exactly, that's why we need to shift power from the federal level to states and localities" -- a nation of city council and school board activists.)

― nabisco (nabisco), Monday, 16 December 2002 19:25 (twenty-three years ago)

yes i'd say the current main problem in the world is that the extant dem.orgs are not big enough

― mark s (mark s), Monday, 16 December 2002 19:27 (twenty-three years ago)

(as opposed to all those problems NOT in the world which bother us so much)

― mark s (mark s), Monday, 16 December 2002 19:28 (twenty-three years ago)

I'd say, but with some reluctance, that the USA is doing pretty well.

― Gordon (Gordon), Tuesday, 17 December 2002 11:04 (twenty-three years ago)

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