• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • AMERICAN DEMOCRACY
  • WORLD DEMOCRACY
  • POLITICAL ART
  • more
    • election technology
    • money politics
    • political dissidents
    • THIRD PARTY
      • third party central
      • green party
      • justice party
      • libertarian party
    • voting methods
  • DC INFO
    • author central
    • about
    • advertise with DC
    • contact
    • privacy policy

Democracy Chronicles

Thoughts on the Evolution of Democracy

by Fred Gohlke - January 19, 2019

FacebookTweetLinkedInPin

Thoughts on the Evolution of Democracy

Politics involve two fundamental factors:  (1) The organization of interactions among humans, and (2) our natural focus on providing food, clothing and shelter for ourselves and our families.

As the number of humans in close proximity to each other increases, the need for organization of human interactions increases, but the majority of people are more concerned with their own needs than they are with the needs of their society.  This results in a power vacuum that is filled by power-hungry individuals who gratify themselves by providing the organization (rules) the society needs.

These power-hungry individuals are autocratic.  When their rule is considered excessive by the people, the people demand a greater say in their own governance.  Successful autocrats recognize the latent power in the people they rule and do what they can to meet their people’s needs without compromising their own authority.  Unsuccessful autocrats inflame the people to revolt.

Revolutions require leaders.  Usually, the leaders are power-hungry individuals who seek to replace the existing order.  They are, or become, masters of inciting public ardor in their favor. Their goal is not to empower the people, but, in recent centuries they have used that as their rallying cry.  That was true, even in our own country, where the leading figures, with the exception of George Washington who strenuously opposed their efforts, formed political parties to support their bid for power.

True democracy has no champions.  It offers no rewards for individuals or vested interests; it gives no individual or group an advantage over others.  Hence, it offers no incentive for power-seeking individuals or groups to advocate its adoption.

Democracy will not succeed until we recognize that there are many among us with the ability and the integrity to improve our lives. We must devise a way to seek them out and raise them to public office as our representatives in our government.

FacebookTweetLinkedInPin

Filed Under: DC Authors Tagged With: Dictatorships, Election History, Founding Fathers

About Fred Gohlke

Fred Gohlke writes for Democracy Chronicles from New Jersey. He has been a proud American for a long time and was born in his grandfather's house on a farm near Alexander, NY. Fred spent 5 years in the U. S. Air Force. He served in Okinawa during the Korean War. His greatest hope is that, by expressing his thoughts, he will inspire someone to challenge them. Only then can we begin the slow process of evolving a more democratic political system for the humans among us. See his full bio for more information.

Some highlighted Democracy Chronicles topics

Africa American Corruption American Local Elections American State Elections Asia Capitalism and Big Business Celebrity Politics China Democracy Charity Democracy Protests Democrats Dictatorships Education Election History Election Methods Election Security Election Transparency Europe Internet and Democracy Journalism and Free Speech Middle East Minority Voting Rights Money Politics New York City and State Elections Political Artwork Political Dissidents Political Lobbying Redistricting Republicans Russia Socialism and Labor Social Media and Democracy South America Spying and Privacy Supreme Court Third Party Voter Access Voter ID Voter Registration Voter Suppression Voter Turnout Voting Technology Women Voting Rights Worldwide Worldwide Corruption

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Liam M says

    February 3, 2019 at 5:29 pm

    I want epistocracy to replace the current “one person one vote” form of democracy. I want a moderate form of epistocracy, which is not too undemocratic. The results should represent what people would vote for if they were well informed.
    I feel like more knowledgeable people would make less selfish decisions, because they can predict the societal impact of policies, not just the personal effect. Actually, many voters are bad at knowing whats good for themselves as well.
    The main issue with epistocracy is how to implement it. How do you determine how knowledgeable people are without partisan bias? There should be research on how to implement epistocracy.
    I’m also an advocate for the use of citizens assemblies. While referendums are notorious for being poisoned by misinformation campaigns, citizens assemblies are made of citizens who are brought into the loop, as they get to join a debate.
    Fearmongering is also a huge issue in democracy. While epistocracy would reduce it’s efficacy, I also think people need to be educated to recognize it.

    Reply
    • Fred Gohlke says

      February 4, 2019 at 1:51 pm

      Good Afternoon, Liam M

      Can you tell me, in epistocracy, who decides which citizens have the political knowledge to rule? I ask because it seems to me you are talking about the Practical Democracy concept, which is described here on Democracy Chronicles at
      https://democracychronicles.org/practical-democracy/
      The Practical Democracy process provides the filtering and selecting mechanism that lets the citizens decide decide which of their number have the political knowledge and ability to advance the common interest. That sure sounds like epistocracy to me and it offers several advantages:

      * It eliminates money from politics,
      * it incorporates partisanship without letting partisans control the process,
      * it completes more quickly than our present system,
      * it functions without political campaigns or the marketing of candidates,
      * it enables and encourages dialogue and deliberation on political issues among the electorate,
      * it lets the people change their representatives as they see fit,
      * it is a bottom-up arrangement that lets every member of the community influence political decisions to the full extent of each individual’s desire and ability,
      * it ensures that candidates for public office are examined carefully BEFORE they are elected, and
      * it builds on agreement by the members of the electorate rather than on confrontation.

      Is that not the essence of an epistocratic political process? If you’d care to critique it in terms of the system you seek, I’ll respond as thoughtfully as I can.
      Fred Gohlke

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Home | DC AUTHORS | Thoughts on the Evolution of Democracy

Primary Sidebar

Advertise button

A Dangerous Reprise Of American Exceptionalism In Ukraine

By Jamie Lampidis May 15, 2022

The stakes are too high to cave into Putin’s phantasmatic imperial play, and too high to believe that this war can be won by arming Ukrainians.

On The Coming End Of Roe v. Wade

By Peter J. Dellolio May 11, 2022

Anyone who says that the evolution of law has nothing to do with politics is either very corrupt or very stupid. Laws evolved through the centuries.

democracy chronicles newsletter

DC AUTHORS

Goodbye Roe v. Wade, Goodbye Rule Of Law

By Andrew Straw May 5, 2022

Congress should impeach judges who act like that because it is not good behavior, and they were asked not to act that way when they were confirmed.

PODCAST: Debating The Future Of Debates

By Jenna Spinelle May 4, 2022

We love a good debate — and have certainly had plenty of them on this show. But how effective are they in today’s media and political landscape?

What “Pro-Palestine” Student Groups Get Wrong

By David Anderson, J.D. May 3, 2022

Back then – as now – this fit into a “colonialist” narrative of European Jews oppressing Arabs – an easy, eye pleasing but intellectually lazy fit.

Examining Government As A “Necessary Evil”

By Gary Berton April 29, 2022

Thomas Paine defines government as separate from society, and indeed if society functioned perfectly there would be no need for government.

Ukrainian And Polish History: Fighting The Empires

By Maxim Sidorenko April 26, 2022

On February 24th, Russia started an unprovoked war against Ukraine. It has become one more attempt of the empire to demolish the Ukrainian state.

PODCAST: What Student Debt Says About Democratic Institutions

By Jenna Spinelle April 26, 2022

In a new book, Josh Mitchell draws alarming parallels to the housing crisis, showing the catastrophic consequences student debt has had on families.

Aging White Men Who Commit Voter Fraud Have Nothing To Fear

By Steve Schneider April 22, 2022

The sentences stand in contrast with the actions of the Governor who recently got the state legislature to create an election integrity police force.

MORE FROM OUR AUTHORS

VISIT OUR POLITICAL ART SECTION:

dc political art

DEMOCRACY CULTURE

North Korea Cracks Down On 'Capitalist' Pop Culture

North Korea Cracks Down On ‘Capitalist’ Pop Culture

May 6, 2022

North Korea has increased its campaign against “capitalist” style clothing, others, in broader crackdown on foreign pop culture.

DiCaprio, Ruffalo Urge Brazilians To Vote, Irking Bolsonaro

DiCaprio, Ruffalo Urge Brazilians To Vote, Irking Bolsonaro

May 6, 2022

Hollywood stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo joined other celebrities making a final push for voters in Brazil to register to vote.

Mock M&M Election Teaches Alaskans About Ranked Voting

Mock M&M Election Teaches Alaskans About Ranked Voting

April 26, 2022

There are paper cups with eight different kinds of M&M near the entrance to Amalga Distillery in Juneau for a mock ranked choice vote.

How Moral Echo Chambers Increase Likelihood Of Radicalism

How Moral Echo Chambers Increase Likelihood Of Radicalism

April 21, 2022

Moral convergence – group of people who share moral standards – emerges in online situations where communities share similar values.

Dr. Oz Seeks To Make History In US Senate Bid

Dr. Oz Seeks To Make History In US Senate Bid

April 16, 2022

Trump’s endorsement of Dr. Oz in the U.S. Senate race in Pennsylvania adds a new wrinkle to the tight race for GOP nominee in a month.

MORE CULTURE

VISIT OUR US DEMOCRACY SECTION:

American Democracy