>It seems rather harsh to deride a population of people for having to put up with a regulatory environment that clearly isn't of their choosing.
I used to believe this also but changed my mind after the 2004 elections in the US. We are living in an environment that clearly is of our choosing - we either voted for it or didn't care enough to vote against. While it's true that some people don't like how the current system works, very few people in America seem to believe that it would be worthwhile throwing everyone out of office or demanding real discourse in politics.
It's true that the world is dominated by sound-bytes, etc. but there's a reason that stuff keeps showing up on TV and other media - it sells. When people value thinking about the world they live and realize that good solutions usually are not "partisan" things might change for the better. But that seems unlikely.
I used to believe this also but changed my mind after the 2004 elections in the US. We are living in an environment that clearly is of our choosing - we either voted for it or didn't care enough to vote against. While it's true that some people don't like how the current system works, very few people in America seem to believe that it would be worthwhile throwing everyone out of office or demanding real discourse in politics.
It's true that the world is dominated by sound-bytes, etc. but there's a reason that stuff keeps showing up on TV and other media - it sells. When people value thinking about the world they live and realize that good solutions usually are not "partisan" things might change for the better. But that seems unlikely.