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As usual, great commentary. One line I quibble with is:

'Ordinary people, drawn randomly from the public, are much better decision-makers than elected officials or judges. They are immune from the regulatory capture and inertia that generally blocks progress on animal rights. '

Probably you meant:

'Ordinary people, drawn randomly from the public, are much better decision-makers [on animal rights] than elected officials or judges. They are immune from the regulatory capture and inertia that generally blocks progress on animal rights.'

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Haha that's an interesting refinement. I would argue, however, that deliberate bodies of citizens are better than elected officials on pretty much all issues. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/23/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-helene-landemore.html

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OK, I focused too much on the earlier part of the sentence - you did say 'than elected officials or judges'. It's a BROAD statement which always scares me but I get it.

Juries definitely have less push and pull from external forces than elected officials. And judges are usually just a single person so a pool of folks is going to be a better decision maker by dint of hearing multiple voices.

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