This thread is for a very basic question about how we want to make decisions.
In a democracy the primary power resides with the people. Elected or appointed officials have the responsibility to organize their area of focus, but do not have decision making authority. They can however use their judgement to interpret the people's decision.
In a representative democracy the power starts with the people, but is transferred to the official in the elective or appointive process. The leader is responsible for decisions. The people may recall a leader they don't feel is following the people's mandate, and they can always vote out the leader in the next election.
A parlimentary system involves electing people to seats in parliment. The parliment then votes for a prime minister who forms the government by appointing people to leadership positions. At any time, the parliment can vote for no confidence and dissolve the government, at which time elections are held. In a DG setting, the people would also be able to recall officials. This would be a complete experiment in the DG, we have not tried it before.
If we want strong local government, an interesting alternative would be a republic. In a republic, the people of a governmental subdivision (we'll call them provinces for a short name) elect that province's representative, let's say governor. Each province gets an equal say (or proportional say) in the national government, with the governors possibly selecting national officials. This would also be an experiment.
OK, lecture is over, what do you think?
In a democracy the primary power resides with the people. Elected or appointed officials have the responsibility to organize their area of focus, but do not have decision making authority. They can however use their judgement to interpret the people's decision.
In a representative democracy the power starts with the people, but is transferred to the official in the elective or appointive process. The leader is responsible for decisions. The people may recall a leader they don't feel is following the people's mandate, and they can always vote out the leader in the next election.
A parlimentary system involves electing people to seats in parliment. The parliment then votes for a prime minister who forms the government by appointing people to leadership positions. At any time, the parliment can vote for no confidence and dissolve the government, at which time elections are held. In a DG setting, the people would also be able to recall officials. This would be a complete experiment in the DG, we have not tried it before.
If we want strong local government, an interesting alternative would be a republic. In a republic, the people of a governmental subdivision (we'll call them provinces for a short name) elect that province's representative, let's say governor. Each province gets an equal say (or proportional say) in the national government, with the governors possibly selecting national officials. This would also be an experiment.
OK, lecture is over, what do you think?