Page 1 of 1

Egalitarian Democracy

Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2009 9:08 pm
by B B
Egalitarian Democracy

-Because Technology has yet to revolutionize Democracy-

The democracy found in the world today although functional is not true to its original ideals, which is: for the people to in essence rule themselves. In some democratic tribal governance systems all members of the tribe were called on to vote on issues regarding the well being of the tribe. As the populations in human societies grew governance by all for all disappeared, one of the biggest reasons for this was because it became technically unfeasible to do so. The ancient Greeks had a form of democracy that we loosely base our political system on, in which the head of the household could vote on all major actions and policies the state would make. As such regular citizens could vote on bills and bylaws which ultimately had a significant effects on their lives.
The democracy of today in which we vote in politicians who represent our wants was created in an age in which getting everyone to vote on everything was technologically impractical. Today this is not the case. By creating machines Just like bank machines but for voting -"voting machines" as well as voting online, and on the phone, every bill, every decision brought through parliament could be voted on by the general public.
I have termed this Egalitarian Democracy. Egalitarian: of, relating to, or believing in the principle that all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities. Democracy: control of an organization or group by the majority of its members. Theoretically this system would have multiple advantages. Firstly the people will have their voices heard if they want to be heard. Laws could be directly tailored to the peoples wants and needs. Secondly there are less positions of power that can be held by potentially corrupted officials or controlled by special interests. This should lead to a more efficient and flexibly run state. This system is now possible; direct control of the actions of the state can be in the hands of the people for which it matters most.
Here is how it could work: Elected members of parliament are still employed to create bills, which after due process become laws. The difference is that everyone gets to vote on whether or not the bills are passed. In this way the people set the policies of the government. Bills put forth by elected members of parliament are officially presented in the house of parliament and broadcast in multiple formats by multiple organizations. Statements for and against the bill in question are prepared by each of the major political parties in the house of parliament. These statements and a copy of the bill itself are shown to individual voters before they vote. Only the results of everyone's votes can turn a bill into a law or a government policy. This system puts more power into the medias hands, so great care should be taken to ensure multiple views are presented both directly at the place of voting and in the general media. Security is a concern, as is the case with any vote for which the outcome is important. The security needed for a system like this, is already available as it is used in everyday transactions with banks, online banking, by phone, etc. Bills put forth to the people in parliament will need to have an established deadline after which the votes are no longer tallied. For example: one week after a bill is presented in parliament to the people polls on that bill are closed (note: technically polling stations need never be closed at night etc). A constitution will need to be created and it is hoped that this will also be determined by the same Egalitarian Democracy voting technique. This constitution should protects the environment, the freedom of speech and the health of the people in control of the country.
Some issues of concern and control need to be set up so as not to be in the control of the government; things Such as: nuclear safety and religion, as well more than three quarters of available media must not be state sponsored. The issuing of ID and other important documents, vote tally and calculation need to be done by separate organizations without direct government control. Arts funding, city planning and spending, provincial planning and spending will be decided with the same voting system but on a scale fitting to the issue. The guiding principle is that only people effected by the outcome of the vote can vote on that issue. For example: only people who reside in a city can vote on issues relating to that city, so to the provinces or territories. Although who gets to vote on what will be a hotly contested issue, most people who don't have any interest in the subject being voted on will not vote on that issue by choice anyway.
Egalitarian Democracy should prove to be a flexible system that takes the advantages of available technology and networks for the net result of putting more minds and therefor mind-power into our politics. If two heads are better than one then x million heads are orders of magnitude better than one or two. This is an open source political rule that uses the efficiency of digital networks. In a way it is an expansion of modern democratic government or a revival of democratic tribal rule. This political system should have the following effects: an increase civic pride, policies will be more flexible and responsive to changing times, less social unrest, more equality, and the country will operate more efficiently and therefor be prosperous and environmentally friendly. After all efficiency is where big business and environmentalism meet shake hands and become best friends
I am presenting this not as an original idea or as an expert. I know that others have had similar concepts. I am not employed in politics or have political training of any kind. I have written this to share this idea with the world; In hopes that someday somewhere, the ideas herein stated are used, and in turn the world becomes a better place. This is not a perfect system but it should prove to be a better system of governance than is currently in use in the world today. This is intended as an outline of a political process and should not be regarded as hard and fast rules as to how Egalitarian Democracy will work. Egalitarian Democracy's inner workings, its state charter or constitution, election terms, guiding principals should all be established using the same voting system that I outlined above.
Feel free to copy and comment on this. It is of utmost important that it gets out to the people of the world. Fame or acknowledgment on my part is not necessary but certainly not avoided if Egalitarian Democracy is ever enacted please let me have citizenship.