Lying is a huge problem in politics, because today’s system for keeping politicians honest by holding them to account at the ballot box every few years is ineffective. The problem of lying can be fixed by making election commitments legally binding – with explicit rewards and punishments according to performance in office. Legally binding commitments would produce higher quality politicians, a more constructive political culture, improved public services, less myopic policy-making, and greater compliance with commitments. Incumbent politicians are likely to oppose attempts to make election commitments legally binding, so change is likely to require initial engagement at voter-level by harnessing the widespread discontentment with politicians under the current system of political accountability.
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