What is wrong with democracy

Notes on Pete's wiki site

I've been involved in some planning and decision-making that's heavily involved (and benefited from) wikis, consensus principles, and other techy media. Can we draw the best elements of that out in a way that improves our democracy? Is it possible to involve a wider array of citizens in decision-making than it used to be, so that we can evolve from the kind of binary choices we see on a ballot? Do we want to rely on our legislators and elected leaders to initiate and manage the right deliberative discussions, or can we take some of that on ourselves?

A couple links:

The kernel of an idea to use wiki culture to influence lawmaking: The Open Lobby

This discussion on Wikipedia concerns whether or not "image placeholders" should be included in biographical articles that lack photos. It's the largest, most complex decision-oriented discussion I've had on a wiki, and illustrates both the strengths and the drawbacks of the medium. Want to "discuss the discussion?" I have a blog post about it, too.