This is a British video but the principles apply broadly - including we Albertans. It is worth the 10 minute watch to help us understand why there is some serious shortcoming in our democracy. The problem is us. As humans are actually trying to change ourselves to become better evolved citizens?
Solutions: Devolve more power to people. Use citizen juries to deal with major problems at least twice a year. Publish all the advice politicians get to help them make decisions.
That would enhance integrity, honestly, accountability, transparency and responsibility all the way around. These are key values that motivate progressives in Alberta society.
We have to use our brains in ways better than we used them before we invented the wheel.
If you want a progressive political culture in the Next Alberta register now for RebootAlberta 3.0 at www.rebootalberta.org
I'm at work and can't see the video, so you'll have to excuse me if I've misinterpreted the point.
ReplyDeleteI see some inherent problems in doing this. Given voter apathy in Canada, people tend not to want to manage their government that finely. Everyone groans just about having to go back to the polls two or three years later, let alone twice a year.
I can see this opening up a situation in which the only ones who get involved with a particular ordinance are those who either have a direct stake in it (which isn't always a bad prospect), and those who've been whipped up into a frenzy by fearmongering. California's Prop 8 is one example (considering Sun Media's move to bring us the same style of newscasting that brought Tea Party madness to the US).
We see the same kind of spin being levied on Alberta's oilfield issues of late -- while not as frightening, it's not hard to imagine where it would go in a scenario in which the most vocal and distorted position often wins.
Transparency and accountability are definitely needed, but I'm not sure that this is the best option.