Sunday 22 June 2008

Introduction

This blog will hopefully fulfil 2 purposes - it is a place to get down some of the ideas for my dissertation on this same topic, but more importantly it will serve as a discussion centre for some of the ideas that will be utilised within it. These ideas are primarily:


Representative democracy does not and cannot ever work. Making our own decisions is something intrinsic to our agency as human beings, so to assign them to a representative is fundamentally disenfranchising - even dehumanising.


The system of representation is not just detrimental to the represented - it places expectations upon representatives that cannot ever be satisfied; leading to disillusionment and alienation, and a cynicism about anyone who tries to undertake activity on behalf of collective groups.


A system of direct democracy is not only now possible, or desirable - at some time in the future it is inevitable. It is a necessity that we have a discussion about how that system might operate before it arrives, to prevent any attendant excesses or pitfalls.



:these basic points will form the backbone of my thinking about government and how it will someday be constituted. This blog will be unashamedly normative in it's approach - it is my fervent belief that a direct democratic system is preferable to (in fact solves many of the problems with) our current political template. However, it will not be uncritical or uncontroversial in its positions.


I hope it will serve as a resource for discussions and ideas around the whole topic.

Welcome

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