Democracy is naked

In the Danish fairy tale "The Emperor's New Suit", the boy pointed out what no elder dared to reveal: The emperor was naked, his court, a bunch of arrogant fools, had been tricked by deceivers.

Politiko writes that it is time to do the same with the system of government - representative democracy and its "so-called" free and fair elections.

“Shocking? Of course it is. They teach us to hold the right to vote as sacred - that, despite the many flaws of our political system, representative democracy is, to quote Winston Churchill, 'the worst form of government, if we exclude all others'", the portal writes.

Author Patrick Chalmers he says there might be a real alternative, something less corruptible than electoral democracy. That something wouldn't have to replace periodic elections, or at least not all at once, but it could protect us from their worst failures, especially the excessive influence of narrow interests to the detriment of everyone else.

In the article, which is part of the "Repairing Democracy" series on ways to counter the rise of illiberalism and the decline of trust in the institutions of the Western world, it is written that the current system does not work and that the evidence is all around us. It frustrates voters that they cannot influence the political decisions that are made on their behalf. Many grumble in private, some find minority scapegoats, and some take to the streets in an attempt to make their voices heard.

Politiko points out that the risks of political inefficiency are serious and have multiple consequences. He cites climate change as the most dangerous, a typical example of political failure at all levels of government, with representative democracy and its vulnerability being one of the essential causes of the lack of action in that area.

Lions of words during the campaign become mice that squeal when it's time for real action. The short-term calculation of votes and seats overrides any hope of long-term thinking".

So our governments, Politiko writes, despite nice words, wasted decades delaying effective answers. The short-term winners have become the voters of rich states, encouraged by fossil fuel companies and other companies that enable our addictions and lifestyles of mass consumption. The losers are poor countries, all children and all other life on the planet.

In order to stop dysfunctional decision-making, it is necessary to stop the electoral dynamics. "Just as the unclothed emperor had to face his nakedness, we will have to reflect on our deepest convictions."

"Politiko" states that, after all, elections have always been a corruption of democracy. The ancient Athenians believed that they inevitably lead to the creation of an oligarchic government - ie. that power is in the hands of a few who serve their own interests.

Their original democracy involved citizen assemblies and the random election of all but a handful of public officials. Athens excluded slaves and women from decision-making, but this was also the case in the United States in the beginning, Politiko reminds. Athenians made their voice heard and participated in decision-making by raising their hands. Urgent decisions were made by small groups of randomly selected citizens on juries, with short, limited mandates.

Only the revolutions in France and America introduced elected representatives, and the result was the usurpation of democracy - both as a word and as a process. If our democracy is naked, it is entirely appropriate that a fifteen-year-old girl from Sweden pointed it out, the comment states. Greta Thunberg drew attention last August when she refused to go to school to protest her government's climate policy. More than 20.000 pupils joined Greta's movement #fridaysforfuture. School strikes have spread to at least 270 cities, including Australia, Britain, Belgium, the US and Japan. As the boy who broke the naked emperor delusion, Thunberg exposed the adults at the global climate summit in Poland this month, the portal writes.

"We didn't come here to beg world leaders to take care of our future. They have ignored us in the past and they will ignore us again. We came to let them know that change is coming, whether they like it or not," said Tunberg at the climate talks in Poland. Her efforts may seem small, but movements like this point to something beyond the frustrated potential of democracy. It certainly seems more likely that they will put pressure on the government to take action than wait for the next chance to vote, the commentary says. At the same time as Thunberg, a movement emerged in Britain, which "Politico" says is guided by the example of Athens' democratic past. The Extinction Rebellion has thousands of supporters who are demanding concrete climate action from the government. One of their proposals is the formation of a jury of citizens to determine how Britain can reduce emissions of harmful gases to zero by 2025. The idea that a group of randomly selected citizens could open more direct channels between politicians, activists and voters is definitely worth taking seriously, he says. Politiko" and points to the promising results of those who have taken that path.

Ireland, learning from the difficult economic situation during the global financial crisis, is a prominent example. In that country, a number of citizens' juries of different formats and topics were held, and along the way, credibility was restored to some extent in its political processes. More specifically, the Irish have channeled citizens' thinking to create fairer policies on hot-button issues like same-sex marriage and ending the de facto ban on abortion. Ireland's public juries, made up of randomly selected citizens, have helped to encourage meaningful, constructive debate ahead of public votes. The state has even clamped down on the risks of foreign money flowing in to finance social media ads to influence the outcome of the abortion vote.

Our common future depends on how we make political decisions. After all, the commentary states, it is representative democracy that gives us the US Senate.

James Madison, the writer of the US constitution, envisioned that branch of government explicitly for "the protection of the rich minority from the majority". He believed that the minority of capital owners must be protected from the rest of society because if the majority, which is poor, joined together and decided, it would rob the rich of their property.

"Politico" assesses that the effects of such arrangements have prevented American citizens from playing a significant role in the fight against climate change. "If we don't change our approach and find a way to hold politicians accountable and make our voices heard, the same fate awaits any climate agreement, however dangerous it might be to our planet."

If we change direction in an effective way, it will be because we listened to people like Tunberg. Or, even better because we have become people like Tunberg, Politiko adds.

"Since our leaders behave like children, we will have to take responsibility, which they should have taken a long time ago," said the young activist to the leaders gathered in Katowice. The portal assesses that her thinking is difficult to dispute.

"If we are going to work together as conscious, thinking beings, we have to clothe our system of government. It's time to end democracy through elections".

Irish pioneers, the practice of the public jury is spreading

"Politico" states that the Irish are undoubtedly the originators of the jury approach, but they are by no means alone.

The practice of public juries is growing all over the world - in Australia, Canada, across European countries and even in the USA. A school project in Bolivia experimented with selecting student governors by lottery. The action was also initiated by the Polish port city of Gdansk

"None of these processes are perfect, nor immune to political influence. However, their joint discussions are certainly more sublime than election campaigns tainted by money," Politiko points out.