Given the year of the intern, the president and his cigar, some will argue that the idea of public service has not been battered as much as it became X-rated. Political parties are struggling to recruit worthy candidates at a time when more voters are becoming alienated from the political process. Mr. Spurgeon looked to U.S. television pioneer Vladimir Zworykin for future changes to the political process. Dr. Zworykin envisioned a kind of continuous referendum, or a direct democracy in which voters could offer their opinions on policy and important issues via radio and television. He thought that governments would listen attentively, gauging popular opinion.
Politicians rely on polls more than ever to learn about the needs and complaints of voters.
Given the high number of phone-in talk shows and political news programs, Dr. Zworykin was on to something. The problem is he did not consider that the entertainment value garnered from such programs might outweigh their political effect. Mr. Spurgeon envisioned that houses in the year 2000 would be produced en masse but also be individualistic. While most houses in any given subdivision today are identical, undermining any possible claim to individuality, they are produced en masse. The article also correctly predicts that man would reach the moon, which happened four years after the article was published.