Democracy Beyond The Destination
Jamie Skella guests, as we lay claim to being the 2,487th podcast to discuss the madness of contemporary politics. Luckily, Jamie has an ace up his sleeve: he created a better way to vote.
For posterity: this was recorded in mid-December, 2020. (1:55) Mitch introduces Jamie Skella, technologist and strategic advisor to the Aussie stars -- Mitch's words, not Jamie's. (5:26) Jamie explains how the blockchain-based voting technology he helped developed at MiVote, and later Horizon State, modernizes and optimizes voting to make it more equitable, more affordable, and more available as a lever for change. (8:47) We lay plain the literal transportation problems in location-based elections, and double down on how alleviating those problems paves the way for a dramatic increase in voting opportunities on a per-policy basis, rather than the character-driven soap operas plaguing conventional politics. (14:29) We touch on the blockchain solution as an exponential improvement on digital machine-based voting, rather than a linear progression. (17:09) Jamie reflects on the hurdles of getting his technology adopted in the public sector and beyond. (23:47) Mitch offers his hot take: the voting aspect of democracy is more or less mob rule no matter how you slice it; abiding by the social contract to support the winner after the fact is what actually makes a democracy. (31:50) Mitch posits that fast-developing countries could use the Horizon State platform to leapfrog established superpowers. Jamie reveals a few interesting discussions he's had with unlikely heroes for democratic revolution.