To main heading
Headshot of Patanjali Sokaris

Pondering the universe

Politics

Category: Good government

Democratic government means that people decide who they want as their representatives, and hopefully how those representatives govern the country, but how do we guarantee that?

1.Good government
Democratic government means that people decide who they want as their representatives, and hopefully how those representatives govern the country.
2.The law
The law is many things, depending upon the level you look at it.
3.Laws
Laws are rules that regulate our behaviour by placing limits on what we can do.
4.Countries and land
Countries are a human construct for the management of people and their interactions. They only exist because of a consensus of their inhabitants and the governments of other countries.
5.Problems within democracies
Before defining a democratic structure, the problems with current implementations need to be identified.
6.Principles for a democracy
Before laying down a constitutional structure, some basic guiding principles need to be enumerated.
7.The Constitution
The constitution defines the basic premises upon which a society is based. It needs to be general enough to allow society to evolve without unnecessarilly constraining it.
8.Federal government
The federal government looks after the country as a whole. It aims to provide consistency of government to all citizens, and a consistent face to other countries.
9.Local government
Local government determines the logistics of how federal services are delivered to the local community.
10.Judiciary and courts
The judiciary provides the main feedback path in democracies as to whether laws are workable in practice, by using the courts as the venue where the law is applied in an attempt to modify behaviour.
11.Bureaucracy
The bureaucracy carries out the functions of government.
12.The true fourth estate
The press has been known as the fourth estate, supposedly charged with holding truth to power, but which we now know is a delusion. However, there is a true fourth estate and that is fact-checkers.
13.Armed forces
The armed forces protect the nation from forces that would seek to prevent operation of the constitution.
14.Police
Police are representatives of the law within the nation.
15.Elections
Elections provide an opportunity for citizens to decide who will represent them. To prevent manipulation and undue influence by influential people and groups, elections need to be carefully regulated.
16.Health of citizens
In a democracy, governments have a duty of care to their citizens, including their health.
17.Support from technology
As technology improves the ability to directly vote securely in real time, many situations that have required voting by representatives could be decided by direct voting.
18.A new approach to education
Most people's education is based around a progressive accumulation of large amounts of knowledge and skills, but is that good enough to keep up with the plethora of knowledge that is presented to us?
19.The Conscience Party
Having seen that parties are basically working against the aims of democracy, how do we get to change democracy when it is governed by parties that don't want to give up their power?
  • The true fourth estate
  • Problems within democracies
  • A new approach to education
  • Contact   Glossary   Policies
  • Categories   Feed   Site map

  • This site doesn't store cookies or other files on your device when visiting public pages.
    External sites: Open in a new tab or window, and might store cookies or other files on your device. Visit them at your own risk.
    Powered by: Smallsite Design©Patanjali Sokaris