I think democracy isn't really an engineering project - it's a communications medium. So while it seems slow and full of bikeshedding, that's because if you don't work out everything procedurally, people turn to other channels.

The chinese are really conscious of this - it's why they are investing so heavily in reducing corruption, which is the archetypal sign of people 'working around' the system.

It's possible that with new technology, they'll succeed - but traditionally, non-democratic projects don't work out because the official channels are useless, and the center doesn't know what the periphery is doing.

People will behave as long as the economy is growing, but as soon as it contracts, everybody will start turning to crime or politics.