Constitution of Direct Democracy: Pure Democracy and the Governance of the Future, Locally and Globally (original) (raw)

Section Preamble ll people share the basic needs of survival and the social drives basic to human nature. Survival demands sustenance, safety and procreation; and the social drives demand dignity, justice and freedom. These shared values emerge when the common will is distilled from the diverse wills of people. Therefore, where this communal wisdom governs, human dignity will be honored and our survival will be secure. Communal governance becomes vital when human decisions take control of the human future and the future of all Life. Human actions will determine if the Earth remains habitable, the level of its population, and the future expansion of Life in space. To secure this future, conflicts must be minimized to avoid selfextinction through mass weapons. Most importantly, with genetic technology the future of the essence of humanity, our communal genetic heritage, is at stake. Such profound powers cannot be trusted to individuals with limited vision. Rather, these powers must be vested in the communal wisdom of Life that developed under the lessons of survival. Direct Democracy is based on the decency, goodness and common sense of most people. The system also serves human dignity. In any society, individuals must subject themselves to the higher will of society. Dignity demands that this higher will shall be the common will that all formulate as equals. Whereas the basic human needs converge, social philosophies, religions and special interests diverge and create conflicts. The proponents of social dogmas are often fanatic, and those who crave leadership are often greedy and power-hungry. Such individuals desire power most ardently and when they achieve it, they exercise power ruthlessly. The resulting tyranny often causes strife, wars and bloody revolutions, accompanied by mass suffering. All types of democracies are preferable to such tyranny. Nevertheless, representative democracy has major intrinsic flaws. Most importantly, the system forces the irrational linkage of unrelated issues, and of issues and personalities. When an individual votes for a candidate or party, that voter necessarily promotes the entire platform A 5. Public debates will be the platform for issue discussions. People are capable of reason but are readily manipulated; therefore, public debates must be factual, balanced, impersonal and nonmanipulative. 6. Public participation will be actively solicited. People exercise their power willingly, but are often inert. Public participation will be actively solicited, but not forced. 7. The results of public decisions will constitute the body of the law. Section 3 Institutions 8. Competent Expert Agencies are accountable to the public will. They will execute public policy and ensure that the will of the people, as expressed in the referendum and poll votes, is carried out by government agencies. Expert Agencies preside over specialized areas of expertise; examples of Expert Agencies include the Health Services Expert Agency, the Defense Expert Agency, the Debates Agency and the Commerce Expert Agency. ~ A Constitution of Direct Democracy ~ An official elected by the public in a general election will head each Expert Agency. 9. The public will control the detailed management of the government through Policy Juries. Policy Juries are responsible for examining the actions of the Expert Agencies and ensuring that they comply with the public law. Policy Juries are non-biased bodies adjunct to each Expert Agency. Policy Juries will be comprised of Policy Jurors, each of whom will be trained in the specialized area of expertise of the Expert Agency to which they are attached. Membership of the Policy Juries is statistically representative of the public. Because Referendums and Polls can cover only major issues, the main body of detailed public law is derived from the decisions of the Policy Juries. In this sense, Policy Jury decisions play a similar role to court decisions in setting legal precedents, but they are even more authoritative as they are more representative of the public. In addition, the Policy Jury can also veto any action of the Expert Agency it finds is not adhering to the public law and requires correction. 10. There will be an elected Public Ombudsman adjunct to each Expert Agency. The Public Ombudsman will assure that the execution of policy by the Expert Agency reflects the public will. 11. Public officials must be elected strictly on the basis of competence and their attitude to towards issues. To assure this, elections will be anonymous. Professional advocates will represent the relevant merits of the candidates. 12. Checks and balances will prevail among the voting public, the Expert Agencies and the Judiciary. However, the voting public will remain the ultimate authority.