Merge branch 'master' of https://github.com/dessalines/essays

RR/vote_proposal.md

@@ -1,12 +1,13 @@
 I have two proposals having to do with the way national holds votes. 
 
-1. Switch away from the representative(grouped) voting that we do now, to individual, low-level voting (direct democracy).
-2. Switch to range voting (probably using either [this site(a sample poll for us)](https://simplevote.ml/#/poll/QL5) that I built, or facebook).
+1. Switch away from the representative(grouped) branch-based voting that we do now, to individual, low-level voting (direct democracy).
+   - Instead of waiting for branch delegates to report that they've received enough, we can simply wait for a quorum of all members(maybe once 1/2 or 2/3rds of all members have voted, then it can pass)
+2. Switch to range or approval voting.
+   - We could either create a private facebook group(or use the one we already have) for approval voting.
+   - Or use [this site for range voting called simplevote, I built for us to use(a sample poll)](https://simplevote.ml/#/poll/QL5)
 
 # 1) Doing away with representative voting
 
-The main reason to use representative voting **was** because it made it easier to tally votes with a small number of representatives. So one state's rep could show up at a national convention, instead of every voter in the whole state. This isn't necessary nowadays, where we can place and tally up votes online. 
-
 ## Why representative(grouped) voting is bad
 
 **A candidate with fewer votes can win** in a grouped voting election. Here's an example. 
@@ -39,15 +40,21 @@ This is called the misrepresentation error, ~53% error in this election if we ga
 
 [Here's](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1u8EAJWnNGhmOj1CaJyAL_XVXY6vqPGkb7E3Go3ZEoSA/edit#gid=0) an example of the misrepresentation errors for the 2017 UK election.
 
-## Additional issues
+## Why was it used in the first place?
 
-- How do we decide when a quorum(minimum # of voters) is reached? Maybe 1/2 of all members, 2/3rds, or 3/4ths, before it gets certified. 
-- How long do the elections last? (1-2 weeks seems like a good default)
-- Do we hold these through facebook, or [simplevote](https://simplevote.ml). 
+Representative voting **was** used because it made it easier to tally votes with a small number of representatives, especially when reps had to travel long distances to tally up a vote. So one state's rep could show up at a national convention, instead of every voter in the whole state. This isn't necessary nowadays, where we can place and tally up votes online. 
 
-# 2) Switching to range voting
 
-## What is it?
+
+# 2) Switching to range or approval voting
+
+## Option 1: Facebook
+
+Just use our private national FB group to hold votes. 
+
+## Option 2: Range voting with simplevote
+
+### What is range voting?
 
 I've built a site that uses it called [simplevote, it might just be easiest to see it in action for a poll I set up for us](https://simplevote.ml/#/poll/QL5). We could easily use this for national, and I can tweak it for our needs. 
 
@@ -61,3 +68,7 @@ To calculate the winner(s), you take the average(s) for each candidate and rank
 
 You can learn more about range voting at [rangevoting.org](http://rangevoting.org/).
 
+# Additional issues
+
+- How do we decide when a quorum(minimum # of voters) is reached? Maybe 1/2 of all members, 2/3rds, or 3/4ths, before it gets certified. 
+- How long do the elections last? (1-3 weeks seems like a good default)

glossary_of_socialist_terms.md

@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
 | [Liberalism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberalism) | A political ideology that emerged in the 19th century that justifies capitalism, free markets, representative democracy, freedom of the press, free speech, freedom of religion, and freedom to own property. It conceptualizes rights as individual-being, rather than species-being or as collective human rights. |
 | [Slavery](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery) | A system that allows individuals to own other human beings, in order to extract a surplus from their labor. |
 | [Feudalism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feudalism) | An arrangement predominating in the middle ages, where a local lord would allow serfs to live and sustain themselves on his land, as long as they provided him labor and military support. |
-| [Fascism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascism) | A heterodox term generally characterized by hyper-nationalism, racial supremacy, a cult of personality around a "strong" leader as superior to democracy, and an alliance between big and small capitalists. |
+| [Fascism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascism) | A multi-definition term generally characterized by hyper-nationalism, racial supremacy, a cult of personality around a "strong" leader as superior to democracy, and an alliance between big and small capitalists. |
 | [Means of Production](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Means_of_production) | Physical, non-human inputs used for the production of economic value, such as workplaces, factories, machinery, or tools. Synonymous with Capital. |
 | [Private Property](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_property) | Means of production, when owned by private individuals, whose ownership is claimed through title, and **not use**, with the aim of extracting rent from the actual users or workers. Synonymous with absentee property. |
 | [Personal Property](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_property) | Property for personal use and consumption. Put simply, your house, and everything in it. Neither socialism nor communism intends to do away with personal property. |