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Democracy 2.0: How Technology Could (and Should) Drive Parliaments Obsolete

This might sound like an episode of Black Mirror, but I think with today’s technology it is entirely possible to replace the need to have parliaments represent the people in a democracy. On all the tasks parliament is there for, a good case can be made that technology has allowed us to do those tasks ourselves without the need of a middleman (elected representatives). We can create laws, agree on budgets, and oversee the executive branch ourselves, in a crowd-sourced sort of method, the way we are already doing a lot of other things. The reason why parliaments exist in a democracy is because it is practically impossible for an entire population to have to convene and vote on every single bill introduced by any one person within themselves, or to agree on the collective budget for example. Of course every now and then in some countries there are referendums that get voted on by the public, but this is about as far as it gets when it comes to the people deciding on legislations with
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Mungkinkah Ahok Mengorganisir Pendukungnya Pasca Pilgub 2017?

Pemilihan Gubernur Jakarta 2019 yang selama setahun belakangan sangat menguras perhatian seluruh khayalak masyarakat Indonesia telah berakhir sudah. Saya ingin memulai tulisan ini dengan memberi ucapan selamat dengan tulus kepada Pak Anies Baswedan dan Pak Sandiaga Uno, walaupun tidak memilih mereka kemarin, sebagai warga Jakarta tentu saya berharap mereka sukses menjalankan tugas dengan baik, karena kesuksesan mereka mengurus Jakarta tentu akan bagus buat saya juga. Terkait kekalahan Ahok, kita dapat melihat berbagai analisa dan teori mengapa seorang pelayan publik dengan tingkat kepuasan 75% hanya mampu meraup 40% suara dalam pemilihan langsung. Tentu berbagai alasan bermunculan, mulai alasan agama/suku yang berbeda dari mayoritas pemilih, kasus dagelan “penistaan” agama, kasar, dan lain-lain (saya tidak masukkan alasan seperti penggusuran, karena tentu alasan-alasan tersebut sudah termasuk di 25% yang tidak puas dengan pemerintahan Ahok). Saya melihat banyak pendukung Ahok
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Kurikulum Sejarah Hapalan dan Pola Pikir Feodal, Kunci Elektabilitas Prabowo

Dalam dua bulan terakhir elektabilitas Prabowo seakan meroket. Beberapa alasan tentang hal ini diungkapkan banyak pengamat sepertinya cukup valid: maraknya black campaign terhadap Joko Widodo, buruknya koordinasi dan logistik kampanye pasangan nomor 2, performa pada seri Debat Capres-Cawapres, dan sebagainya. Saya punya dua hipotesis lain tentang mengapa rakyat bisa seakan menutup mata pada fakta-fakta dan seakan terhipnotis oleh sosok Prabowo Subianto. Pertama, kurikulum sejarah di sekolah-sekolah di Indonesia dari Sekolah Dasar hingga Sekolah Menengah Atas cenderung bersifat hapalan. Saya yakin anda yang sedang membaca artikel ini masih ingat bahwa Perang Diponegoro terjadi pada tahun 1825-1830, dan bahwa Perang Dunia I terjadi diawali dengan terbunuhnya Pangeran Franz Ferdinand. Tapi jika kita diminta mengaitkan apa yang terjadi saat itu dengan konteks kekinian untuk melihat ke depan, kita akan kebingungan. Padahal, sejarah seharusnya bukan untuk dihafal, melainkan untuk
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A Free-Market Solution to Jakarta's Traffic Congestions

There have been quite a heated debate going on regarding the recent Low Cost Green Car policy, a tax cut on cars which allows carmakers like Astra and Indomobil to come up with a line of under Rp 100 million cars. Those who oppose think the policy would certainly make traffic congestion in Jakarta even worse than the already dreadful state it is now. Those who support think it might be a way to let less well-off Indonesians to fulfil their dream of owning a car. As the debate gets ideological, I'm going to put on my libertarian coat and try to offer a free-market solution to the congestion problem.  There is a big mismatch in the transportation system in Jakarta, whereby automobiles are largely private while roads are largely public (toll roads make up for less than 5% of total road length). The LCGC bill simply further liberalised the the automobile industry, benefiting consumers, which in any other industry would be a good thing under libertarian perspective. However, as roa
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Why Countries Should Embrace Free Trade but Their Football Associations Shouldn’t

Following my previous post about English football’s Dutch Disease problem here http://rayestu.blogspot.com/2013/05/why-three-lions-wont-have-too-many-more.html , I will further elaborate my thought on footballonomics. Most sane economists would tell you that free trade is good for countries. It makes countries produce more of what they can do better than others and import what they can’t, a much more efficient way of doing things.  It lets people get higher standard of living as they could buy foreign goods (presumably of better quality) at a cheaper price. It destroys cartels and monopolies and induces more competition among producers, for the benefit of consumers. It provides business opportunities for a lot of people as they can sell their products abroad easier. And many more. It might be bad for domestic producers who cannot compete, but even opponents of liberalism would yield that free trade is at least good for consumers.   The key is that there is two parties in the d
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Why The Three Lions Won’t Have too Many More Good Players: The Dutch Disease

Until recently, England were never short on talent. The Man United Class of 92 saw the birth of quite a lot of talent like Scholes, Beckham, and the Nevilles. The Academy of Football (also known as the West Ham academy) fabricated players such as Carrick, Lampard, and Joe Cole. They also have stars like Rooney, Ashley Cole and Gerrard. But these talents are either retired or aging, and the new breed of stars don’t look like they are half as good as the generation they are replacing. What’s happening to them? In Economics, it is problem called Dutch Disease. Dutch Disease is a term coined by The Economist to refer to the decline in Dutch manufacturing after the exploitation of a large oil reserve in the North Sea. The large revenue generated from oil export made the Gulden stronger to a point where their manufacturing output became uncompetitive in foreign markets. The Dutch Disease has been an issue anywhere there is a large inflow of money towards a country due to a sudden ev
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Why Fuel Subsidies Might Actually be Pro-Poor

Just a simple thought that flashed through my mind after hearing many people say that fuel subsidies in Indonesia is pro-rich. Yes, I know that more than half of the subsidies is enjoyed by the top 10% income earners, the bottom 10% only get like 2-3% and yada yada yada, but come to think of it, maybe our government just believes in trickle down economics. It’s basically a tax cut to stimulate the economy, right? Here it goes: Fuel subsidy leaves middle-up people a little bit richer, giving them a little bit more disposable income. Now, the richer you are, the more you save, meaning that this extra income for the rich/middle up will lead to more national savings compared to if the money is distributed towards poorer people. Theoretically, a one rupiah increase in national savings should lower interest rates just enough to induce one rupiah additional investment. In another word, more savings also means more money there is in the money market to be borrowed to fund inves
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