Democracy vs. Development – Does Freedom Slow Progress?
A 60-minute session on whether freedom slows a country down. Not the economics, but the places we already feel it: the flyover that has been ‘almost ready’ for six years, the trees cut for a metro, the protest blocking your road, the agent who gets your licence by Monday, the strict parent, the group trip nobody can agree on. When everyone gets a say, do things get better or just slower? Twelve independent cards; open three or four.
The opening question
If someone offered you spotless roads, clean air and trains that always run on time, but you could never complain in public about anything again, would you take the deal?
Everyone in the room answers this in one line before any card is opened. Write the answers down; you will come back to them.
The cards
12 ways into the topic
Each card is independent. Your group votes on which to open, and four or five is plenty for an hour. Behind every card sit three prompts, one at a time, that only appear once it is opened on the board. Unopened cards keep for next time.
- 1
Coming Home From Dubai
You spend a week in Dubai. The roads are spotless, everyone stops at signals, and you feel safe at midnight. Then you land back home.
- 2
Comparing India And China
A video shows China building a giant bridge in a few months. Back home, the flyover near your house has been “almost ready” for six years.
- 3
Trees Cut For A Metro
A new metro line needs land, so thousands of old trees will be cut. Some people protest all night. Others just want a faster ride to work.
- 4
When The Road Needs Your House
One morning there’s a red cross painted on your wall. The road is being widened. The front of your house has to go.
- 5
Stuck Behind A Protest
You’re late for work and the traffic stops dead. Up ahead, people are sitting on the road with banners. Nobody moves for an hour.
- 6
Cameras On Every Street
Your city puts cameras on every corner, in buses and outside schools. Your mother feels safer. Your friend says someone is always watching now.
- 7
Free Things From The Government
Before elections, leaders promise free bus rides, free electricity and money every month. The woman who helps at your house is thrilled.
- 8
Paying An Agent To Skip Queues
You need a driving licence fast. The official way means forms, tests and weeks of waiting.
- 9
Complaining Online To Officials
The one card where freedom might be what speeds things up.
- 10
A Strict Ruler Who Delivers
Imagine one leader nobody can vote out or question. Every road gets built on time. But you never get a say in anything.
- 11
Strict Parents, Successful Kids
One house has study timetables, tuition every evening and no arguing back. Next door, the kids choose a lot for themselves and argue at dinner.
- 12
Planning A Group Trip
Eight friends want a holiday. Everyone gets a vote in the group chat. Three weeks later there are 400 messages, two polls and no tickets.
The line to leave with
This week, where did you wish someone would just decide for you, and where would you have hated it if they had?
More boards,more ways in.
Every discussion we have run has a board behind it. Browse them by topic.