A proposal to reform today’s democratic political structures

Index

1. Overview
2. Keywords
3. Intended audience
4. Democracy as it is today
5. Guidelines for a reform
1. Targets
2. A new forum
1. Why a forum
2. How to choose it’s members
3. Organization and operation
4. Assignments
6. A final word

About this text

1. Overview

Today’s democratic regimes are far from being praised by their citizens.

The share of people who attend elections is dangerously small; political parties look like marketing machines programmed to win the next elections; the decisions that affect more deeply people’s life, generated by the global economy, seem to be independent of political instances and elected political powers; public opinion is standardized by mass-media.

Each elector faces candidates that very much look alike, independent press (in a broad sense, including radio, TV, Internet portals, etc) is hard to find, in short, Freedom is at stake.

Democracy is too precious a good to go on being depleted, a reform is urgent and mandatory.

Democratic regimes should generate, granted by elected parliaments, new areas of political power to be put on the hands of citizens, who can join a forum by means of the new information highways, the wide world web – the net.

2. Keywords

3. Intended audience

This proposal is intended to reach anyone who is interested in politics, ranging from a militant in a political party or association to a member of a government or a non-governmental organization.

It is also aimed at those – a growing majority – who find themselves bored by politics. No doubt, everyone is smart enough to realize that humans live in society and that the level of well-being of individuals and families is strongly dependent on social organization and the powers that rule it, thus making everyone naturally interested in the management of community (polis) matters. Thus, the lack of interest in politics can only be a consequence of the barrier between political powers and individuals. The very word ‘democracy’ seems to be another unaccomplished political promise.

4. Democracy as it is today

A democratic political system cannot rely on the hope that politicians and citizens will lead a morally perfect life to ensure that democracy will run smoothly. Rather, it will have to be prepared to survive in any kind of harsh environment.

Technological changes and the "New Economy" have led us to a world far from the one that saw modern democracy born. The ultimate human values of today may well be the same that showed up some 5 or 7 thousand years ago, but political organization just can’t work based on a two-century-old model.

Some aspects of our democracies clearly show the urge of a reform:

• Political elections have more than 50% abstention
• Electoral choices are made on personal empathy with candidates, mainly the party leader, as political ideas seem very similar, all claiming to be "pragmatic". New ideas promote changes, and those who feel threatened react more intensely than those who would benefit from the changes
• Candidates want to please the average elector, sound strategies and political reforms are to be avoided, surveys are good enough to show the way
• Political campaigns are funded by lobbies with direct interests on future political decisions, their wishes will be granted, otherwise funding will be redirected to political opponents and the media will be full of scandals next morning
• In many countries, political movements who despise democracy get more than 20% of votes
• The mass-media is highly concentrated, having no device to assure its independence facing the established powers; news is poured to people in bundles of "facts" with no balanced explanation of context by individuals and institutions bearing opposing views
• Justice is slow to act, people feel courts to be far away, belonging to a world of experts. Claims, before duly judged, are on the tabloid’s front pages
• Public promoted causes are far from being clear on their real objectives; political, social and economic powers prevail over public interest in choosing which cases are to be sent to trial
• Legislation is so complex that anyone, when being a nuisance to some established center of power, can be sent to court and even sentenced, because there so many unused laws waiting for the right occasion to be reborn or used in a more imaginative way
• Production and sales of light weapons (meaning that they can be transported and put to use by one or two persons), drugs and capital laundry are activities with such a weight that could not be achieved without active or passive cooperation by democratically elected governments
• Major trends in human future history are being shaped by corporations without a previous social or political agreement. Food/agriculture/chemical/pharmaceutical/biotech/genetics/energy: a basket of industries that can turn countries, territories, communities or the whole planet earth into misery or prosperity. Does this belong to ‘economy’? Do humans belong to ‘economy’ ?

5 Guidelines for a reform

 5.1 Targets

This reform of democracy aims to re-balance the roles and the way of interaction between political powers and the individual. There is no claim that political power lies with the people, who delegates this power to elected institutions, rather, it is stated that since political powers are influenced by social and economic forces, something must be created to give individuals a chance to express their opinions and put pressure onto political structures.

This reform leaves all existing democratic institutions untouched, it only wants to implement a new device to interact with the old one’s so that they can re-establish people’s confidence in democratic institutions.

This new device can only be created by an elected parliament, it is mandatory that it shall be born out of today’s democracy, to the benefit of the whole system and its values.

5.2 A new forum

5.2.1. Why a forum

 Any search for a solution, be it so simple as 3 people choosing which movie they are going to watch, necessarily demands a process in which people state their preferences. But not just once, they must adjust their choices to other’s opinions, who in turn, change their choices, pursuing their self-interest. Without these kind of game-like iterations, the solution will not assure the best for all participants. A one-shot vote between few proposals is to be avoided. The road to improve democracy has not "referendum" on its name.

Thus, the new democratic institution should be a forum.

A decade ago, a new assembly could not be built to became immune to the weaknesses of existing institutions, as regarding lobby’s pressures, even if somehow it could avoid political parties main role on its composition. But, nowadays, the internet is widely available in homes, present in almost every public library, school or post office, and expanding it’s presence with interactive TV, mobile phones and other devices. In this new situation we can have individuals communicating easily and affordably, without having to disclose their identities, without having to leave their villages or towns to move to political capitals. They will not enter a political career and leave their profession, they will not be reachable by lobbies, they will not have to obey a party’s establishment, they will not postpone reforms fearing a decrease in popularity. They shall not be fed by the public budget.

5.2.2 How to choose its members

This virtual assembly must choose its members out of all the population, being only required what cannot be avoided in order to assure its goals will be pursued, so the individuals must

1. Belong to the community (defined by geographic or other method) in which the forum is to be established
2. Be able to express its ideas, in written, in the official language
3. Be able to use the internet and an electronic mail program
4. Show minimum skills to elaborate on social matters, to ensure that its participation will not be reduced to a yes/no vote with no arguments

The process to choose the members of the forum can be the following:

• Candidates, identified according to point 1, are submitted to a random choice and given a unique non-significant code and a password, giving them access to an account on the forum
• the chosen candidates e-mail a text ( e.g. max 2000 characters) to prove they conform to points 2 to 4.

It is irrelevant if the candidate chosen is the person who actually uses the account. The account can be managed by a friend or the whole family can gather and participate in the forum using the account of old grandmother who was lucky enough to get one.

The forum ‘etiquette’ would be centered on the very core values of democracy.

Only one rule: Respect for others and other’s opinions.

Only one extension to this rule: Individual or group characteristics (based on gender, age, religion, ethnic origin, cultural environment, lifestyle, citizenship, political preferences, moral standards, anatomic/physical aspects, intellectual capacities, social origin and status, or others) shall not be used out of context. For example, someone could say that there should be a law assuring that "people with light complexion must use sun protection in daylight". Even if we find it deplorable in terms of individual freedom vs. public interest (public health) it is acceptable. On the other hand "people with light complexion cannot enter supermarkets" is definitely not valid. This example clearly shows that tyranny is out of scope but no limits of political-correctness shall be present in such a democratic forum.

5.2.3 Organization and operation

This forum works with an agenda coming from citizen’s proposals, other political institution's requests and, of course, questions raised by members.

In the accorded schedules, members read and write about the issues in discussion (using non-public e-mail addresses) and, when necessary, they state their preferences.

When considered of interest, a voting is held, to decide over distinct resolutions. These texts will be accessible to the public, except when involving justice matters dealing with the honorability of individuals or institutions. Anyone from outside the forum can place a message in the forum public mailbox or to a chosen member’s public address.

All this running on the internet.

5.2.4 Assignments

The range of assignments of the forum can be very broad, it will probably assume different shapes according to different countries and regions, and in the course of time. It is likely that, at first, the only feature of this forum, relating to political established institutions, will be the possibility to speak and be heard. Even at this early stage, the debates at the forum can have significant impact on society and political powers.

To monitor political auditing processes, to ensure individual freedom is strictly respected, to follow disputes facing government versus people, among other tasks, could be well suited for the forum.

6 A final word

This reform is not meant to put professional politicians to further criticism, nor to create a new court nor to diminish the importance of elected powers. This reform aims to establish debates over relevant social and political issues, to grant effective protection of civil rights to individuals and institutions, to establish links between tax-payers and public administrators, to make sure the development of a community is not jeopardized by politicians short-term need to win elections.

It is necessary that the values that give life to democracy be highly regarded by the people, notwithstanding the weaknesses inherent to political party’s life and the unavoidable tendency of power to fell into sinful temptations.

The tree main democratic values can be stated as follows:

• equality : the respect due to every human person
• freedom : the right to think and express one’s opinions
• solidarity: the community will grant every individual the means to develop all its human skills, regardless of social and economic status.

Author Zpaulo Carraca

E-mail: zpaulo_carraca@yahoo.com

 Language: English (which is not the author’s mother tongue; but English, even if poorly used, is a ‘de facto’ standard for communication in our global world)

First version 2000-05-23

This version 2005-02-16

 Dedicated to my father, who was able to become more sensible, kind and understanding when old age and serious illness came as a heavy burden on his life, thus showing the paradoxical nature of victory and defeat

God bless him.