Sortition for a Steady State Economy?
by Gary Gardner
In my frustration over humanity’s sluggish response to the urgent issues of our time, I find a bit of hope in an idea championed by the philosopher John Rawls. He had a simple and appealing suggestion for shifting people’s preferences in the direction of the common good.
Rawls proposed that anyone deliberating about public matters–legislators, officials, citizens, and others–start from behind a “veil of ignorance,” that hides from them their place in society.