Never The Twain Shall Meet

"The government is merely a servant -- merely a temporary servant; it cannot be its prerogative to determine what is right and what is wrong, and decide who is a patriot and who isn't. Its function is to obey orders, not originate them." Mark Twain.

This ideal, this myth, is such a part of our collective subconscious that many accept without question the concept of government as servant of the people. Yet in today's Parliamentary Democracy we elect rulers who have no way of knowing what the will of the majority is. No way of taking orders. They sometimes, but not always, pursue their manifesto commitments. They sometimes, but not always, try to represent their constituents. MPs sometimes, but not always, follow their own consciences. They more often vote in accordance with the Whips. Interactive Democracy is closer to Twain's ideal.