Does government currently (1)_______ the will of the people all the time for every policy? Fake News, fraud, corruption and scandal have become common-place in the end phases of Democracy 1.0. The most vulnerable and marginal who are most in need of good government and most (2)__________ affected by bad policies are simply not voting. Those who expect much more from politics than just a vote every four years are also abstaining in disgust. Democracy is about community whereas politics are about power. There is a distinction.
Constitutions talk about ‘common will’ and the ‘will of the people’,” they don’t say 50 per cent of the ballot plus 1 [extra vote]. Democracy was always meant to be for everybody. Unfortunately, we in western Europe have got into a habit of taking majority votes. Democracy 2.0 is the inevitable movement that will put control of society in the hands of itself. It is the first practical (non-violent, legal, effective, fair) way to begin gradually improving the current system from the ground-up as opposed to (3)______________ the existing system and putting a completely new system in it’s place. When (4)___________ revolts, top-down seizures of power, or civil wars are the tools used to change a system, the new system always eventually has the same problem as the previous system.
the video presents a transparent, verified system not only for voting in a variety of policies, but also for decission making in communities and enterprises
What if you could vote on individual policies instead of political candidates or political parties? What if there was a way to make sure that voting was 100% secure with un-hackable, transparent ballot boxes that are accessible to every citizen?
This can involve voting anything from a request to the city to repair a road, to legislation to change traffic laws, to drug laws, to (5)___________ ineffective police, to laws concerning this very system; in short, anything a city council member, mayor, or president would be able to do. All citizens can propose legislation and vote on it, instead of just the person they elected to represent them. Let's follow the examples of successful operations of direct democracy in countries like Switzerland: it has a seven-person executive, with a rotating presidency. In the current administration four parties are represented on the government.
a few new ways of implementing democracy could be: Multioption voting: multioption decision making is actually common to our society – except in politics. Not a Yes/No option as in Brexit in UK. You look at the different options and then you compromise.
Collective governance: Just as the parliament should represent all the people, the government should represent the entire parliament. It also means you are obliged to work with others. Where a consensus is sought, decisions (6)_________.
proportional voting: A system that offers a meaningful range of political choices stands to motivate youth engagement in ways two-party systems don’t.
crow-funded campaigns: Representatives don’t take any corporate cash, the platform allows them to crowd-fund effectively from individuals instead.
This documentary examines the philosophy behind the concept of Democracy, from ancient Athens to modern Greece and the American Civil Rights movement.
The representative isn’t a leader so much as a (7)_____________ for the decision-making power of society. Instead of adhering to the political party views he must keep his/her campaign promise to the electorate. Societies should be able to organize themselves how they want and see outside the box with a growing interest in grassroots democracy and citizens’ initiatives. Respectful civil discourse and compassionate listening will be important tools as we evolve to (8)_________________ the challenges of our era. Different styles of society need to have the freedom and flexibility to experiment. Keeping decision making fluid and decentralized prevents corruption.
We need tools and platforms that help to maximise our ‘hive knowledge’ in an open-sourced and collaborative way, that go beyond isolated meetings and personal contacts. Tools that can really bring democracy defenders together.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AxdLBNNlxo&t=322s
this video presents some excerpts of a documentary about the possible measures needed to be taken in order to improve our current democratic systems.
EXERCISES
1. Put the words in the blank spaces
a. tearing down b. firing c. enact d. conduit e. grievously f. coups g. stick
h. meet
2. Find in the text the synonims to the following words:
ABIDING BY DEFINIBLE BY USERS JUST LOOKED FOR
FUNDAMENTAL, ORIGINAL
3. choose A, B, C from the following questions
1. what is the meaning of the expression "from the ground-up " in blue in the text?
a.- a sudden change
b.- a change from the base
c.- a gradual change
2. what is the meaning of the expression "top-down seizures of power" in blue in the text?
a.- a horizontal intervention
b.- a elite conspiracy
c.- a violent coup
3.- what is the meaning of the expression "outside the box" in blue in the text?
a.- organizing events in a varied manner
b.- Assessing events from non-conventional thinking
c.- watching things from a non-involved point of view
4.- what is the meaning of the expression "hive knowledge" in blue in the text?
a.- a hidden knowledge
b.- a traditional knowledge
c.- a collective knowledge
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