I didn't say smarter, I don't think they're smarter. They're better informed and have a more responsible culture regarding politics which takes the form of informed participation.
In fact, I believe this is precisely because people are given a much more direct way of influencing decisions in the country which starts at the very local and scales up. What you say, that you have a system that keeps misinformation in check, yeah, that's part of it.
It's not about individuals being better or worse, groups of people everywhere in the world I would say are pretty much just as smart. It's about the system, but you can't just take a system and drop it on a society that's not used to that; it needs to be phased in and adapted.
I guess, in fewer words, it's not that the swiss (individual person) are smarter but socially (swiss group of people) are. Because there's a culture and systems in place that allow for better group-making decision. It's the difference between having a disorganized group of people just shouting and a group where people take turns to speak; the individuals in the first are not less smart than the second but the second has a system that allows for better decisions to be made.
I generally agree with you. I believe it is all about the culture and by extension the systems which have evolved over time to govern the political process.
I took objection however with "people do not fall prey so easily to misinformation like they would in other countries [...]". People as individuals are as prone to believe anything they read or hear as they are in any reasonably developed and educated country.
The key difference to me seems to be that the political system offers fewer incentives for political actors to act destructively. Proportional representation and multi-member districts mean nobody can assume they will win a majority alone, and a strong pull towards consensus (multi-party governments) means no party will ever govern alone. Everywhere, including in Switzerland, any political party will use information for a certain benefit or advantage, and "misinformation" is just the derogative term for that process, usually from the vantage point of the political opponent. However, there is less to gain from it when you need other parties to find an acceptable compromise and bring forward your objectives.
In fact, I believe this is precisely because people are given a much more direct way of influencing decisions in the country which starts at the very local and scales up. What you say, that you have a system that keeps misinformation in check, yeah, that's part of it.
It's not about individuals being better or worse, groups of people everywhere in the world I would say are pretty much just as smart. It's about the system, but you can't just take a system and drop it on a society that's not used to that; it needs to be phased in and adapted.
I guess, in fewer words, it's not that the swiss (individual person) are smarter but socially (swiss group of people) are. Because there's a culture and systems in place that allow for better group-making decision. It's the difference between having a disorganized group of people just shouting and a group where people take turns to speak; the individuals in the first are not less smart than the second but the second has a system that allows for better decisions to be made.