"You do have a government, then?" said the Scarecrow.
"Oh, yes," replied the Elf. "We do, but they don't have the power over the people like other governments. Let me explain: any group of people called a government is only as good as the sum total of all the individuals who make up that group. So, if the majority of these individuals are dedicated to the good of all, then the people will have a good government. If, however, the majority of these individuals are dedicated only to the good of themselves and their own special interests, then the people are short-changed and the country is weakened. When a major decision has to be made which affects all of us, everyone's name is thrown into a hat, then twelve of those names are drawn. These twelve are then given the task of formulating the plan. All of the rest of us vote on this plan. If it passes by at least eighty percent of the vote, we assume that, since eighty or more out of a hundred Elves want it, it will probably be good for all of us. If it doesn't pass, we urge all who voted 'no' to carefully restudy the proposal; then only these people vote again. Usually it passes this time. If it doesn't, we ask those who voted 'no' again to write down their objections; then we rewrite the proposal and everyone votes again. The proposal very rarely fails this time. If any proposal fails by a very large margin, we just throw it out until a better plan is formulated. Usually everyone joins in with suggestions."
"It sounds quite simple," said Dorothy.
"It is," replied the Elf. "Our government is only in operation for one thing at a time, so they don't try to think up new ways to control the people, and they don't act like an all-knowing parent and treat the rest of us like little children and say 'You can't do this' or 'You can't do that' or 'You must do this' or 'You must do that.' Since most of us have voted 'yes' on everything, we ourselves have chosen to do this or that, so we are happy to abide by the law, for we know it is for the good of all us. We don't have that situation
where the few gain special concessions at the expense of the many."
"Well, it all sounds like a very fine arrangement," said Dorothy. "But I'm afraid our society is far too complex for the same kind of arrangement."
"Only because you make it so," replied the Elf. "Too much mortal thought and not enough spiritual thought is the main problem with your system. By the way," he said, "we do not use money here. But we once did. And, when we did, we all paid ten percent of our earnings in taxes. In other words, we all paid an equal portion of our income, and no one was allowed any deductions. Of course, now we don't use money anymore, so we are required to give ten percent of our goods or services. However, nobody abides by it because we all give more voluntarily. We have no greed here, so we don't hoard vast amounts of goods and property. We just take what we need for today, for that's all anybody needs. If someone should feel he needs more — our community warehouses are full. But, since there is plenty for everyone, nobody bothers to acquire a whole lot, or, if anyone does, he soon tires of it."
"What if someone is not content with one of these little houses you have," asked Dorothy, "but wants to build a great big house on top of the hill?"
"No problem," replied the Elf. "He just makes his wishes known on the bulletin board in the town square, and everybody stops what he's doing and runs to help build the house. But most Elves like to live close together (we're very friendly). We enjoy each other's company, and are very considerate of one another. We don't like to isolate ourselves from our neighbors."
"Well, as I said, everyone seems so very happy," said Dorothy.