Power and its Distribution
A society with a well-educated populace can only be harmed
by concentration of power and decision-making in too few hands. People grow and
mature throughout their lives by making responsible decisions and learning
through the outcomes, and if the majority of people are expected to live solely
within the parameters defined by a central powerful body, then vast numbers of
people are deprived of the right to self-determination. Thus collective life is
reduced to a very circumscribed existence and growth is thwarted.
Of course, it is quite acceptable that some decisions should
be left to a few representatives, because they know the issues best, and they
may have the most experience and wisdom to make decisions for the whole, but
this only works if there are many levels of decision making between the
individual and the central power. On this basis those making final decisions
are doing so aware of the opinions and desires of others.
Centralized
government only works if those elected to make decisions are cognizant of the
need to be as inclusive as possible, and if they are not motivated by the
desire to control, but rather by the desire to serve. The worst case scenario (at
least before one gets to authoritarianism) is the one that is all too common in
history, and in essentially all nations of the world today, where the average
person feels completely cut out of the political process and feels no way to
get the government to listen to his or her opinion.
Surely we should be able to prevent a small minority from
taking and monopolizing power. And yet, history shows us that this is a much
more complicated issue than it should be.
In many democracies, the role of the ordinary person on the
street is to vote once every few years and to complain in between elections. If
he or she wishes to have more input, it seems they are expected to spend an
inordinate amount of time and effort to mobilize numbers of fellow citizens
into such activities as mass letter writing campaigns, mass emails, or
eventually demonstrations on the street. Finally the ear of their
representative in power is only engaged if the very position of that person is
felt to be under pressure.
In general, a political system should embody certain
principles in order to maximize the input of all adults and ensure appropriate
participation in the creation of a healthy collective entity.
1. 1. Power
and responsibility for collective decisions should be distributed as widely as
possible
2. 2. Mechanisms
should exist by which all opinions are heard
3. 3. The
welfare of all living beings, including the land and the planet itself, should
be taken into consideration in all matters.
The best way to ensure that power does not get concentrated
at the highest levels is to collect all taxes locally and keep the higher
levels on a fixed budget, so they act within a clearly defined realm of
responsibility. This restricts the expansion of power, and ensures that a voice
emerges closer to the street. An inappropriate grab for power would simply
result in the withholding of the money on the part of the local governments.
There are many ways in which power can be limited, and the
fact that these have not been implemented shows that there is a problem with
relinquishing power on the part of politicians. Restricting politicians to two consecutive
terms would greatly reduce the necessity they feel to make decisions which
enhance their likelihood of reelection. At least it would reduce the number of
years when their primary focus is on the next election. Making all
communications with lobbyists public would be a major game changer. Limiting
the time and money spent on campaigning would liberate everybody and greatly
simplify the whole process.
The people elect their representatives, and must exercise
oversight on their performance. Newspapers would be the obvious channel for
information to get out to the public, but information is usually corrupted by
partisan thinking. Once a party controls the newspapers, they cease to be of
use in disseminating information, and there is little news today that has not
been influenced by partisan thinking.
The law can too easily be used to control the population,
and insulate governments from having to listen to anyone. After all, government
decides when and how law enforcement will act, and has the power to mobilize an
army in extreme necessity.
Clearly we cannot restrict government from making decisions,
but we can
1. 1. Define
our values clearly
2. 2. Keep
a close watch on our representatives and publicize their actions, assessing
their performance in keeping in line with the country’s values.
3. 3. Educate
every citizen about the issues of concern and the decisions that are involved
in creating and maintaining a healthy society.
4 4. On
this basis, hold ongoing discussion about how to govern ourselves and how to
deal with current issues.
Many states have oversight committees to keep a watch on
governmental activities, such as the justice system. This is clearly an
excellent idea, and represents exactly the type of measures mentioned above.
However, in keeping with the centralization of power, too often these
committees are made up of the same few people, usually people who are
ex-lawmakers or associates of those in power, and exhibit the same
unwillingness to report to the community what is really happening. For this to
work, each political unit, municipality or township, would have to send people
to make up these oversight committees, and expect them to report back clearly
and honestly. And of course, they would have to have access to factual
information.
All sorts of measures are put in place to restrict what
information can get out to the general public, starting with “national
security”, “ongoing investigations”, “privacy”, etc. On top of that, the press
can feel pressured by threats of lawsuits or arrest if they write anything
unacceptable to someone with power. These are real issues which greatly
increase in importance in a society where trust is low.
Trust is low now because most governments are operating in a
mode that is no longer appropriate for people of the education and maturity
level demonstrated in today’s world. Actually the current mode of governing has
been extended beyond what was appropriate by at least half a century. As a
result, people have become frustrated and upcoming generations have felt
disempowered by their entry into society, not excited by the prospects for a
great future. Their education has been severely misdirected, with emphasis
placed on keeping them in their place rather than on encouraging creativity and
personal empowerment. In fact, at this
point a typical life cycle involves getting into debt by the time of graduation
from college, taking essentially any job, and immediately being encouraged to
save for retirement.
How does anyone ever travel, spend time looking for the
purpose of life, volunteer to do good somewhere else in the world?
America in particular maintains such a dysfunctional
government by the misuse of, and overreliance on, the Rule of Law. This is not
the ultimate good, it is merely a stage where we have all gotten stuck because
the prevailing lack of trust encourages us to try to control everybody by what
seems to be the only means available. However, accusation is not going to bring
a healthy society: primarily it serves to further destroy any trust between
people. Very few feel able to challenge the abuses within the system because
they know that same system can easily be used against them.
There exists a powerful force for change in the world today,
but it is sleeping, unaware of its power. When the women of the world decide to
participate actively in local groups and local government, it will be a very
major step toward the good, because women naturally care about future
generations, and can collaborate and discuss and come to consensus without all
the formality and need for control that exists in most of society today.
Our greatest hope is soon coming online. Young women are
growing up with the very clear knowledge that change must come, and with the
stronger educational backgrounds, as is evident from college campuses. And of
course the women who would have been old at fifty in previous generations are
now feeling quite lively and active at sixty, looking for a way to give meaning
and value to their lives.
