The time-cost of political participation

When we evaluate the governments of ancient states, we need to remember that they drew their leaders from the set of people who had free time.

If a lot of people can take time off from plowing while not starving, then democracy may be possible. Athens, with its moderate climate and fertile soil, provides a solid example. On the other hand, as Jared Diamond notes in Guns, Germs, and Steel, if a leader can easily deprive her enemies of resources, it's easier to maintain a monarchy, as in Egypt.

To evaluate a government, we first have to examine the empirical conditions under which that government existed. Then, out of that feasible set, we can rank the existing government against the others.

In a more modern context, we should consider ways to minimize the (time) cost of acquiring information about government so that we can maximize citizens' effective free time and make our government more participatory. Many commentators have said that Americans just don't care; I think it has as much to do with the complexity of the subject matter as anything. When you have to dig deep into the Department of Labor website to find anything of value--and when the responses are as useful as

Question: How many hours is full-time employment? How many hours is part-time employment?

Answer: The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not define full-time employment or part-time employment. This is a matter generally to be determined by the employer. Whether an employee is considered full-time or part-time does not change the application of the FLSA.

then it's not surprising that nobody knows or cares what goes on in government until it's directly relevant to their lives.

President Obama showed during his campaign that people want to believe, want to participate, want to be part of the national mission. We just need to make it easier.