I invented a much better system of government than democracy as the background for a fantasy novel I might write someday. Imagine a big, fairly bureaucratic empire, somewhat like Rome. At each level of authority, when people report to their boss, they do it under the influence of a magic lie-detector spell, so the boss will know if they are incompetent or corrupt. At the top, the emperor is checked by reporting (in formal public rituals) to the high priest.

Best run place you could imagine, ever, until someone manages to replace the artifact that verifies that the emperor is truthful and sane with a fake just as said emperor goes bonkers...


To be a little closer to Bill's point, though, as I see it the proper function of voting in a democracy isn't to make regular decisions about how the country should operate, it's to act as a check on the people who are running things. Elect people; if they do a bad job, elect different ones; if they ignore an issue that the people are really seriously exercised about, initiative and referendum allows the people to act directly, but it needs to be hard enough for the citizens to bring a citizens' initiative to referendum that it doesn't happen too frequently or lightly. Unfortunately, the whole concept is predicated on the idea of a well-informed, well-educated electorate; as Jefferson told us, with an ignorant populace the results are undesirable. Might just as well try your luck with a king. (The king bit is my thought, not AFAIK Jefferson's.)