{"id":51,"date":"2026-04-08T14:25:24","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T14:25:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/optimocracy.org\/?page_id=51"},"modified":"2026-04-08T15:22:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T15:22:19","slug":"resumption","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/optimocracy.org\/index.php\/resumption\/","title":{"rendered":"Resumption"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"51\" class=\"elementor elementor-51\" data-elementor-post-type=\"page\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a83d01b e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"a83d01b\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0f0bcbc e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"0f0bcbc\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-dc0422d e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"dc0422d\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d2965c0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"d2965c0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Optimocracy\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5d0ad0a elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"5d0ad0a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><a class=\"navbar-brand\" href=\"index.html\">Passionate About Dispassion<\/a>`<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-93dda5e e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"93dda5e\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-72269f6 elementor-nav-menu__align-center elementor-nav-menu--dropdown-tablet elementor-nav-menu__text-align-aside elementor-nav-menu--toggle elementor-nav-menu--burger elementor-widget elementor-widget-nav-menu\" data-id=\"72269f6\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;layout&quot;:&quot;horizontal&quot;,&quot;submenu_icon&quot;:{&quot;value&quot;:&quot;&lt;svg aria-hidden=\\&quot;true\\&quot; class=\\&quot;e-font-icon-svg e-fas-caret-down\\&quot; viewBox=\\&quot;0 0 320 512\\&quot; xmlns=\\&quot;http:\\\/\\\/www.w3.org\\\/2000\\\/svg\\&quot;&gt;&lt;path d=\\&quot;M31.3 192h257.3c17.8 0 26.7 21.5 14.1 34.1L174.1 354.8c-7.8 7.8-20.5 7.8-28.3 0L17.2 226.1C4.6 213.5 13.5 192 31.3 192z\\&quot;&gt;&lt;\\\/path&gt;&lt;\\\/svg&gt;&quot;,&quot;library&quot;:&quot;fa-solid&quot;},&quot;toggle&quot;:&quot;burger&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"nav-menu.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<nav aria-label=\"Menu\" class=\"elementor-nav-menu--main elementor-nav-menu__container elementor-nav-menu--layout-horizontal e--pointer-underline e--animation-fade\">\n\t\t\t\t<ul id=\"menu-1-72269f6\" class=\"elementor-nav-menu\"><li class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-home menu-item-88\"><a href=\"https:\/\/optimocracy.org\/\" class=\"elementor-item\">Optimocracy<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-87\"><a href=\"https:\/\/optimocracy.org\/index.php\/resumption\/\" class=\"elementor-item\">Resumption<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-86\"><a href=\"https:\/\/optimocracy.org\/index.php\/engineering-mindset\/\" class=\"elementor-item\">Engineering Mindset<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-85\"><a href=\"https:\/\/optimocracy.org\/index.php\/our-inspiration\/\" class=\"elementor-item\">Our Inspiration<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-83\"><a href=\"https:\/\/optimocracy.org\/index.php\/contact\/\" class=\"elementor-item\">Contact<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-84\"><a href=\"https:\/\/optimocracy.org\/index.php\/about-us\/\" class=\"elementor-item\">About Us<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\t\t\t<\/nav>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-menu-toggle\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-label=\"Menu Toggle\" aria-expanded=\"false\">\n\t\t\t<svg aria-hidden=\"true\" role=\"presentation\" class=\"elementor-menu-toggle__icon--open e-font-icon-svg e-eicon-menu-bar\" viewBox=\"0 0 1000 1000\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M104 333H896C929 333 958 304 958 271S929 208 896 208H104C71 208 42 237 42 271S71 333 104 333ZM104 583H896C929 583 958 554 958 521S929 458 896 458H104C71 458 42 487 42 521S71 583 104 583ZM104 833H896C929 833 958 804 958 771S929 708 896 708H104C71 708 42 737 42 771S71 833 104 833Z\"><\/path><\/svg><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" role=\"presentation\" class=\"elementor-menu-toggle__icon--close e-font-icon-svg e-eicon-close\" viewBox=\"0 0 1000 1000\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M742 167L500 408 258 167C246 154 233 150 217 150 196 150 179 158 167 167 154 179 150 196 150 212 150 229 154 242 171 254L408 500 167 742C138 771 138 800 167 829 196 858 225 858 254 829L496 587 738 829C750 842 767 846 783 846 800 846 817 842 829 829 842 817 846 804 846 783 846 767 842 750 829 737L588 500 833 258C863 229 863 200 833 171 804 137 775 137 742 167Z\"><\/path><\/svg>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<nav class=\"elementor-nav-menu--dropdown elementor-nav-menu__container\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t<ul id=\"menu-2-72269f6\" class=\"elementor-nav-menu\"><li class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-home menu-item-88\"><a href=\"https:\/\/optimocracy.org\/\" class=\"elementor-item\" tabindex=\"-1\">Optimocracy<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-87\"><a href=\"https:\/\/optimocracy.org\/index.php\/resumption\/\" class=\"elementor-item\" tabindex=\"-1\">Resumption<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-86\"><a href=\"https:\/\/optimocracy.org\/index.php\/engineering-mindset\/\" class=\"elementor-item\" tabindex=\"-1\">Engineering Mindset<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-85\"><a href=\"https:\/\/optimocracy.org\/index.php\/our-inspiration\/\" class=\"elementor-item\" tabindex=\"-1\">Our Inspiration<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-83\"><a href=\"https:\/\/optimocracy.org\/index.php\/contact\/\" class=\"elementor-item\" tabindex=\"-1\">Contact<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-84\"><a href=\"https:\/\/optimocracy.org\/index.php\/about-us\/\" class=\"elementor-item\" tabindex=\"-1\">About Us<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\t\t\t<\/nav>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c29ff67 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"c29ff67\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0f3bf47 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"0f3bf47\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-092d4c8 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"092d4c8\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Picking Up Where Jefferson Left Off\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5d49376 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"5d49376\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>While we attribute big advances in technology to the work of scientists and engineers, it happens that those same people are also responsible for advances in human governance. From the writing of the Magna Carta to the Icelandic Constitution to the U.S. Declaration of Independence and Constitution, we owe whatever freedoms we have from despotism to people with an engineering mindset. Systems that deliver liberty have come from those who were able to step back, define the problem, and then dispassionately and objectively set out to write specifications &#8211; textual engineering drawings if you will &#8211; that define structures that preclude known sources of failure. In this case, &#8220;failure&#8221; usually means accumulation of excessive power by one person.<\/p><p><em>That is engineering.<\/em><\/p><p>Engineers, and those who have an engineering mindset, tend to understand the role of constraints in systems. They understand the tendency of systems to fail in specific ways if constraints are not properly engineered. A system of checks and balances is engineered to prevent the consequences of the built-in tendency of power to corrupt. It&#8217;s no coincidence that Jefferson and Washington and Franklin et al were engineers, even though the term was not widely used in their day.<\/p><p>Politicians have learned how to play electorates with instantly-provoked passion about fictional distinctions such as right-vs-left, Democrat-vs-Republican, libertarian-vs-governed. Those political passions have repeatedly led us into wars, depressions, and generally avoidable misery. It&#8217;s time for an end to bumper-sticker politics and demagoguery. It&#8217;s time to end the practice of campaigning. Optimocracy has a tendency to diffuse emotional appeals and to limit the effectiveness of aggressive campaigning, because every voter by definition knows the complexities of the issues in the area where she or he is entitled to vote.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0093a91 elementor-widget-divider--view-line elementor-widget elementor-widget-divider\" data-id=\"0093a91\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"divider.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-divider\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider-separator\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Optimocracy Passionate About Dispassion` Picking Up Where Jefferson Left Off While we attribute big advances in technology to the work of scientists and engineers, it happens that those same people are also responsible for advances in human governance. From the writing of the Magna Carta to the Icelandic Constitution to the U.S. Declaration of Independence [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"elementor_canvas","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-51","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/optimocracy.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/51","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/optimocracy.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/optimocracy.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/optimocracy.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/optimocracy.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/optimocracy.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/51\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":112,"href":"https:\/\/optimocracy.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/51\/revisions\/112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/optimocracy.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}