I assume each of the AMA, APA, and IEEE have substantial barriers to entry (e.g., professional education and/or licensing) that serve the screening-for-investment function Julia describes.
I also would not assume these organizations do a good job at representing their populations—e.g., about 75 percent of US physicians aren’t members of the AMA, which isn’t a big vote of confidence.
I think you’re right about the limitations of these examples, but this feels like we’re getting lost in the weeds. The original point was about travel costs making democratic decision-making processes suboptimal in large countries. These examples show that’s not true—organisations routinely manage democratic processes across large geographies.
I assume each of the AMA, APA, and IEEE have substantial barriers to entry (e.g., professional education and/or licensing) that serve the screening-for-investment function Julia describes.
I also would not assume these organizations do a good job at representing their populations—e.g., about 75 percent of US physicians aren’t members of the AMA, which isn’t a big vote of confidence.
I think you’re right about the limitations of these examples, but this feels like we’re getting lost in the weeds. The original point was about travel costs making democratic decision-making processes suboptimal in large countries. These examples show that’s not true—organisations routinely manage democratic processes across large geographies.