A ship lost at sea
Monday, September 15th, 2008
Image via Wikipedia There once was a ship caught in a storm and blown off course. After the storm had passed, The ship’s captain, a gruff, burly, short-sighted, half deaf worn old sea captain brought the crew on deck to discuss what to do. This captain tried to run his ship based on the popular vote of the crew.
The debates were loud and heated. The navigator on this ship was well trained and highly skilled, however he was also quiet, introverted, and generally not liked by the rest of the crew. In the frantic chaos of being lost at sea, the crew’s support fell behind the most charismatic and popular crew member and the vote fell that the ship should be steered in the opposite direction from what the navigator had suggested.
The ship and crew sailed for weeks in the wrong direction. Satisfied that democracy had reigned supreme, the crew starved to death still lost at sea.
This is an adaptation of one of the stories of Plato regarding the limits of democracy.
