The Old World had a strange mix of legacy systems of varying degrees of corruption and cleanliness, function and dysfunction. None of them worked to our satisfaction.
Out of times of danger and chaos, we sometimes looked to Kings or other Totalitarian forms of government. These had the benefit of an individual who could act rapidly and without consultation. This was extremely effective in the short run if the ruler was good. It invariably led to ruin when power corrupted the present or successive generation of leadership.
Minor adjustments to the rule of Tyrants led us to determine that power should not be vested in one individual, and we took steps to limit their authority. This usually led to the intentional or unintentional creation of oligarchies, who indeed did limit the unilateral power of the ruler, but shared the tendency to become corrupted by the still-too-concentrated wealth and power.
We tried bloody revolutions and chopped off the heads of the elite, only to learn that the fruit of the next government is inherent in the seeds of the revolution, and one bloody revolution always leads to the next.
We attempted pure democracy, only to discover how easily the crowds are manipulated, swayed, and deceived, and how easy it is for majorities to oppress and exploit voiceless minorities.
We tried exiting from the system all together, and attempting to be sovereign and free by separating ourselves from society and being alone. However there is much we lack in isolation. We were built for meaningful community and society.
We tried handing control over to a central government, who would plan for us and provide for us. Tens of millions of us suffered and died.
We tried creating categories and classes, assigning one another to them on some basis, and then establishing class-based systems. We discovered that people hate being treated as a number in a class, and that class based systems devolve to disrespect and tremendous suffering.
We tried representative democracy, in which individuals would vote for representatives who contended for positions of power. However we discovered a continually degrading quality of candidates, and a continually rising corrupted political elite. Over time it devolved into massive unelected and unaccountable bureaucracy, appointed by the subservient politicians that the political and economic elite allowed to run. Campaigning, voting, and competition created polarization and division, and rarely led to true sustainable solutions.
We tried tribal governance, however we discovered that without an overarching and uniting structure, identity, and law of some kind, we were constantly at war with the "enemy" "out there".
We tried to subordinate everything to capital and shareholder interest, trusting that the markets would sort it out over time, yet by the time the markets began to understand and price in the exploitation, the people and the earth had been raped and pillaged.
We tried nationalizing the corrupt corporations, however we discovered that governments cannot efficiently operate what founders build, and that governments grow just as corrupt and exploitative as the corporations and capitalists.
So we auctioned them off and ended up back in oligarchy.
We tried massively strong central party governance by the elite, however we again discovered that absolute power corrupts, and they were willing to enslave and exploit millions to accomplish their goals.
We tried forging a United Nations, however it suffered through subsequent generations, was beset by the divisions among the corrupt governments represented within it, and proved ultimately incapable of meeting the needs and solving the problems inherent in our lives and our world.
We tried creating political parties, but discovered that they too became corrupt centers of power that divided and deceived, and led us away from Success towards Failure.
And so we were left wondering... How will we govern the New?