Small Islands

One vote every four or five years. That is about all we get in regards a say so in how our country is run. A lot of those votes count for nought if the political group is not very well supported. Some elections are rigged and nothing more than a sham. Some of us will voice our opinions and hope that those in charge will take heed of what we have to say. Aside from that there is little most can do. Those in a minority camp find themselves out voted in every election. They therefore make do and put up with the way things are. It is rare for us all to witness lots of changes made in our favour. People that do get involved in politics find themselves in endless meetings trying to get agreement. The more attending the meeting the more you spot falling asleep. Endless intricacies of what to do are debated. Politics is a difficult business as the electorate have vastly different wishes. Politicians need to address the wide variety of demands and cater to so many disparate people.

Perhaps we could find a small island and build a better way of life. This was what Ben put to three good friends, convincing them that a new start on their terms was possible. Hence the day came where four people left the modern world to embark upon a new life on an isolated island, looking to build something utopia-esque. Their chances may be slim, but optimism pervades. They now feel empowered to get things moving along in the direction of their pleasing. They sit by the campfire and start discussing the details, planning what sort of community they are going to build.

Ben is always looking ahead, driven to find new ways of doing things, clutching to the concept of continuous improvement. Unlike Dave who likes to live by the day. Dave will only do things when it is absolutely necessary or to stop Claudia and Racheal nagging.

Ben is a visionary, an ambitious one. That is fine, there is hope that lots of projects can be embarked upon to make life on the island great. Clean water, grow food aplenty, shelter, toilet facilities, cooking and cleaning areas plus ever more tools to make life easier. Ben wants to ensure everything is as good as it can be with the limited resources available. They look ahead to the prospect of having children and want them to benefit from all their hard work. Dave feels that although there is an expectation that future generations won’t have to make the same sacrifices as they have, it will always be the next generation that benefits and never this one. Besides aspirations change and new problems replace old ones.

They debate the idea of a democracy, but Ben sees a problem with this. One person can be regularly outvoted. They are prone to major rancour and upset regarding some key issues with some becoming marginalised and pushed aside. There will always be the potential for three to override the concerns of the fourth. Despite the trap of too much talking and not enough doing, Ben still likes the notion of all sitting down and working things through thereby getting agreement for everything of importance and everything trivial. So much for coming here to get away from long winded meetings. Racheal has seen this sort of thing before, working in organisations that had noble aims - trying to keep everyone happy. Those implementing this kind of practice discovered that the only thing that got done was a lot of talking. Having group decisions rather than one person making all the decisions is a nice virtuous idea in principle but rarely works for long in practice. Having one person in charge, preferably in turns, at least gets things done even if it is like a sailing boat tacking wildly from side to side but making headway. One person moves it ahead and to the left, the next also ahead but to the right as well.

The one thing they do not want to see is some kind of hipocracy. Claudia has seen many people encourage others to forfeit things whilst living an elevated life themselves. Claudia has the benefit of a religious upbringing and therefore can bring a lot of its useful messages to the table. However, the rest feel that whilst these messages have resonance in any day and age, a state can be founded on equivalent high morals without reference to any superior being. They can manage without god providing guidance. They all agree that if any kind of dictatorship emerges, then it will be time limited as this metaphorically speaking reduces the risk of tacking so far and for so long sideways that the boat hits the rocks.

A democracy is often considered to be the least worst option. A theocracy here is a potential but not enthusiastically endorsed by all, so they agree to appoint a chairperson to oversee a pragmatocracy. The chairman has a specific role in eliciting as much agreement as possible. It takes restraint and skill to get the group to come to decisions rather than be the one to decide everything. The chairman ensures all get to speak. They allow one person at a time to make their case with brevity in mind. The chairman would ask a lot rather than say a lot.

When votes are needed, they take the form of black stones handed out equally. People can use one on an issue or hold back and use lots of them on something that they have bigger concerns about. So long as a majority is cast, in this case 3 or more stones, then the motion is approved.

People enjoy excluding others. Those that try to exclude the less knowledgeable will present things in a convoluted complex way rather than in plain simple terms. Add in plenty of jargon and many will have no clue as to what they are agreeing to. All four will look out for clever mind games. Watching to see if anyone gets pushed aside. Forceful characters, popularity contests, people jostling for position and ignoring some people’s opinions whilst gushing over others. Lots of ways people are denied the opportunity to steer things in relation to the running of the island. Having people voting in concert simply to avoid any friction is not the answer. That can be because they are not fully conversant with the motions put forward or because they don’t want to be seen objecting too much.

The fly on the wall is keen to see if some form of community-ism manifests itself with everyone mucking in for the good, the benefit of everyone or whether as time passes more effort is spent on individual advancement. The fly has seen it all and can’t recollect witnessing a movement that has no downsides. The more intense the capital system, the more it brings about a dog-eat-dog mentality with ever increasing pressure to move ahead and no time or proper consideration for the weaker less able members. People there feel a failure if not doing super wonderful things. Then it saw the farcical pretence that people are willing to work hard predominantly for the greater good. Few work hard just for the benefit of others and remain content in their own lives. The fly waits for a hopeful to pass then lays a bundle of eggs just beneath the upper dermis. The eggs hatch and maggot their way out consuming the bulk of the buried body. The fly’s children then seek new spots in hope of fulfilling the dream of their ancestors, which is to find a place with a balance so elegant that no more dirty work of meddling is needed, but expects it to be fragile, guaranteeing it won’t last long.