"Oh, yes," replied the Elf. "We do, but they don't have the power over the people like other governments. Let me explain: any group of people called a government is only as good as the sum total of all the individuals who make up that group. So, if the majority of these individuals are dedicated to the good of all, then the people will have a good government. If, however, the majority of these individuals are dedicated only to the good of themselves and their own special interests, then the people are short-changed and the country is weakened. When a major decision has to be made which affects all of us, everyone's name is thrown into a hat, then twelve of those names are drawn. These twelve are then given the task of formulating the plan. All of the rest of us vote on this plan. If it passes by at least eighty percent of the vote, we assume that, since eighty or more out of a hundred Elves want it, it will probably be good for all of us. If it doesn't pass, we urge all who voted 'no' to carefully restudy the proposal; then only these people vote again. Usually it passes this time. If it doesn't, we ask those who voted 'no' again to write down their objections; then we rewrite the proposal and everyone votes again. The proposal very rarely fails this time. If any proposal fails by a very large margin, we just throw it out until a better plan is formulated. Usually everyone joins in with suggestions." "It sounds quite simple," said Dorothy. "It is," replied the Elf. "Our government is only in operation for one thing at a time, so they don't try to think up new ways to control the people, and they don't act like an all-knowing parent and treat the rest of us like little children and say /'You can't do this'/ or /'You can't do that'/ or /'You must do this'/ or /'You must do that/.' Since most of us have voted '/yes'/ on everything, we ourselves have chosen to do this or that, so we are happy to abide by the law, for we know it is for the good of all us. We don't have that situation where the few gain special concessions at the expense of the many." "Well, it all sounds like a very fine arrangement," said Dorothy. "But I'm afraid our society is far too complex for the same kind of arrangement."