Thought Exercise: If the People Who Lived the Consequences Made the Decisions

I have been thinking a lot about the retirement age in Australia. About how the people deciding how long we work are rarely the ones feeling that extra year in their bones. It made me wonder what the world might look like if the people who lived the consequences of decisions were the ones who helped make them.

I understand the logic. Streamlining rules keeps things fair. We do not want fifty versions of a driver’s licence or a patchwork of tax codes. Consistency gives us structure. But not every community can live by the same standard. The rhythms of the city do not match the realities of the country. The cost of living in one postcode does not mirror another.

Imagine if decision-making reflected that truth. If local voices shaped national rules. If policies were written with the same nuance as the people they serve. If those who know what it feels like to live under a policy helped design it from the start.

That was once the spirit of democracy, when people gathered in small halls and schoolrooms to talk, argue, and build together. It was not perfect, but it was close. Close to the people. Close to the point. Somewhere along the way, we traded proximity for efficiency, and people became data points on a map.

But what if we found our way back? What if empathy did not have to travel a thousand kilometres to be heard? What if leadership began not from a podium, but from a table where everyone has a chair?

Maybe the world would slow down, but it would grow wiser. Maybe compassion would stop being a luxury and become the baseline.

There was a time when one ruler could command millions through fear, but that time is over. Knowledge moves faster than authority now. The people are no longer silent; they are the voice. And maybe this is the quiet revolution we have been waiting for, a world where decisions are lived, not imposed, where rules are consistent but compassion is local, and where the people who carry the consequences finally share in the power.

So tell me, if you made it this far, how would your world change under this model? What would look different, feel fairer, or finally make sense if those who lived the outcomes helped shape the decisions?