There are four scenarios in which PeopleCount can fail. I’ll start with the three less probable ones.
The World May End
It’s conceivable that disasters could prevent it from happening, though it would have to be a pretty significant disaster. It will thrive the more we have collective federal issues to tackle. But a nuclear explosion, or possibly even a huge solar flare, could take out our electricity network. And if the fundamentalist Moslems, Christians or Jews are right, the end of the world may be right around the corner!
American Negativity is Too Large
Americans are very negative about politics. I’ve talked to hundreds of people about politics. Consistent with this Pew report that says Americans are “beyond distrust” of government, people seem to fall into three camps. Some people are full of complaints, reasons why politics doesn’t, and can’t, work. Some people handle their cynicism by avoiding politics entirely. Others are involved in politics somehow. Many of these people are also negative, but some think it’s just fine, giving them their livelihood or hopeful efforts.
In my estimation, plenty of Americans are positive enough to begin to use PeopleCount when it’s ready, and we have a solid plan for steadily expanding the user base. Many people I’ve talked to are interested in trying it out when it’s ready.
An Alternate System will be Created
PeopleCount.org is predicated on American dissatisfaction with the current system. If something else fixes it, or lots of other things improve it enough, we won’t need PeopleCount. That’s a wonderful possibility!
Or an alternate system could torpedo PeopleCount. Like Facebook killed MySpace. They have different missions, but Facebook weakened the need for MySpace.
Bad execution can kill PeopleCount
This is the real threat. PeopleCount is needed now. But it’s not going to happen without help. I’ll describe the specific execution risks in the next article.