Why George Galloway’s Win Is Good For Politics

Congratulations to George Galloway for securing a huge victory in the Bradford West by-election; he is an inspiring speaker and a dedicated campaigner. This post talks briefly about what it is he stands for and why his election may have a positive impact in British politics.

Democracy In The 21st Century 2: Radical Optimism

The internet has transformed the way we talk, the way we message, the way we learn, the way we shop, and the way we do business, and it will change many more things in our lifetime.

The internet provides an abundance of choice and complete freedom of communication –
the ability to contact anyone in the world at any time at no cost.

Anyone with a computer can talk, buy, sell, and bank online with whomever they please. Everyone has access and instant choice between different vendors and different currencies at the click of a button. Anyone can create an online business and do business with people on the other side of the globe. Anyone can create online friendships and meet like-minded people, formulate groups and networks and consolidate public opinion. Anyone can create a web page and get their message heard; anyone with a camera phone can be a journalist; anyone can create a cause, a forum, a network, a movement, and make real changes. In other words, the internet enables real democracy.

Many say the West is in decline, but be best not to let these people scare you. Our belief in freedom, self determination and capitalism has given us a culture of creativity and innovation. This entrepreneurial nature, combined with the digital technology boom, will ensure that it is the west that pioneers the continued development of the free peoples of this planet; but we must be daring, and we must think positively.

There are ways of achieving more development AND more equality in our society, and they involve democratising certain public institutions in order to give equal rights to all who hold a stake in them. All of the issues that have led to the stagnation of the western economies can be solved with more democracy, and the internet makes this possible.

Democracy In The 21st Century

Once upon a time in England, the fastest form of communication between different towns was to send a messenger. The king would dispatch a young lad on horseback with a sealed scroll to deliver his mandate to the regions. “Here ye, hear ye, the King demands this that and the rest of it..” In these ancient times bereft of technology, it made sense to have a ruler sitting in his castle in the south, controlling a central location for meetings, discussions and decision making for the country. 

Jumping forward in time to fifty sixty years ago, even when the greatest forms of communication had advanced to the telephone and the fax machine, one could still just about make a case for a system of centralised decision making by the institutions of our central government. After all, democracy can never be perfect; it would simply be unfeasible for everyone to have their say in politics by sending letters or making phone calls. It made sense for each region to send someone to London to speak on our behalf, and then all of the elected representatives of the country would make the laws together.

Well, we are now in the 21st century, where anyone with an interest in the goings-on around them and an internet connection can take part in a worldwide debate. Just as digital cameras and mobile phones give potentially anyone the ability to be a journalist, the blogging culture has turned anyone into a potential writer capable of publishing and distributing opinion throughout the country. Through the internet, people can easily find the website, chat room or online society that can connect them with the individuals or organisations in the country that think in the same way that they do and that share the same opinions. It is now practically possible for the public to have some form of direct input into politics. We can have online opinion polls and the public consensus can be easily determined. It is simply unacceptable in this day and age for there to be a separation between the opinion of the public and the way in which we are represented in parliament. It no longer makes sense to have a ruling establishment in Whitehall that do not listen to, discuss and execute the exact will of the people. The people are out there right now, on the internet, blogging, debating and congregating, trying to make themselves heard.

We need to open up democracy. We need to get it on the internet, in a controlled way so that everyone can have their say in the issues that matter to them.

Now by this I don’t mean getting rid of representation. We can’t give decision making totally to the people. Most of the population don’t have an interest in politics and are not bothered about voting for everything. We can at least, however, open up the system of representation. We need to put it online, on a public website where you can log on and see the representative for your constituency, see what his or her policies and priorities are, and open up wider debates about them. This way, the person that represents us will be exactly the person who shares the views of the people and vows to uphold them in parliament. If he or she did not prioritise our views, or if she voted against the views of the constituency, we would be able to discuss why in online forums and vote to depose her. We could even have online candidacy for MPs, so that anyone who better suits the role of representing the people in a given constituency can challenge the current incumbent for the job.

This may seem radical, and indeed it is relative to our archaic system of democracy that fails to deliver on so many of the current issues of today. But the sooner we start thinking in the 21st century and revolutionise our democracy, the better it will be for everyone.


Read On >>>>>> Democracy in the 21st century: Part 2