Design by committee

The term “design by committee” is one I am familiar with as a web developer. It carries zero positive connotation. The story goes that, when creating a product (be it a website, a portable mp3 player or a microwave), the more fingers there are stirring the pot, the worse the product is going to be as a result. The point is that it’s best to have a small handful of visionaries dictating the Way It Is and anyone else involved simply following their direction.

Wikipedia says that “the defining characteristics of ‘design by committee’ are needless complexity, internal inconsistency, logical flaws, banality, and the lack of a unifying vision.”

You get the picture.

My question is this: If design by committee carries such a negative inference, why do we continue to praise and support the idea of democracy in government? People constantly complain that our government is overly complicated, bogged down and rife with bureaucracy. Perhaps that’s because we all feel the need to “do our part” in contributing to the laws that get put into place.

I’m not saying I have a better suggestion over democracy. Every form of government has its benefits and drawbacks. America’s government is highly complex, full of hoops, chutes, ladders and loopholes. And we all helped make it that way.

Actually, I take that back. My preferred form of government is a benevolent dictatorship. But that doesn’t work either, because, as they say, those that should be in power are exactly the ones that refuse to be.