&gt; <i>To apply the first bullet point at the end of the essay [0] would necessarily mean the end of the US&#x27;s Federal Republic. Do you disagree?</i><p>It totally depends on whether groups&#x2F;states decide to remain part of it. To the extent that they do it will continue to be, and to the extent they don&#x27;t it will cease to be.<p>&gt; <i>Is there a national government on Earth that you feel is well-run and adequately represents its citizens? If there is such a government, what is the representative-to-constituent ratio in that nation?</i><p>Heh, believe it or not that is a project I&#x27;d already set for myself.<p>It&#x27;s not something I can answer for you in five minutes right now, but I will point out that Switzerland tops many charts and it actually employs direct democracy.<p>&gt; <i>If there is not such a government, what are the top five [1] problems with the way the most reasonable national governments of the world govern?</i><p>Ignoring for the moment the (non)existence of such a government, I&#x27;ll rattle off a couple:<p>- Group rules do not represent the interests of group members. Most governments instead represent either the interests of the most wealthy (plutocracy) or the most vicious (dictatorships), and few (if any) provide explicit mechanisms for secession.<p>- Member votes are not properly weighed based on their understanding and knowledge of the issue they are voting on.<p>That last issue could be addressed by liquid democracy, or a group currency group fund: <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;groupcurrency.org&#x2F;#GroupFund" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;groupcurrency.org&#x2F;#GroupFund</a>