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Okay, you can probably figure out what we're against...but
what are we for? The Edible Ballot Society believes that it is important
that we all have a genuine dialogue about the nature of our political process,
and that we discuss, debate, and build alternatives to the current absurdity
that passes for democracy. The alternatives listed below are only meant as a
starting point for discussion. They are sometimes contradictory, and range
from minor cosmetic reforms to more comprehensive alternatives (and from
the obvious to the banal). They do not by any means represent proposals that
we have reached consensus on, nor is the list even remotely complete. Rather,
they are ideas that individual members of the Edible Ballot Society have put
forward for discussion. Everyone is encouraged to email us their additions to
this list, and they will be put up (unless they really suck).
- Build our own alternative structures
- Local control
- Sumo Wrestling
- Form and encourage alternative media
- Darts not Ballots
- Campaign Finance Reform
- Survivor meets West Wing
- Proportional Representation
- World wide revolution with unlicensed pleasure as its only
goal
- Direct Democracy, not Representative Bureaucracy
- Free Votes and Recall
- Liberate the internet
- Better Acronyms
- Poets on Money
- Aboriginal Self-Government
- Universal Suffrage
- Open debate and consultation
- The People's Senate
- Build our own alternative structures
- One of the obstacles to democracy is that people believe that their contribution to the political process is simply to vote once every few years. Instead, we need to form our own grassroots movements, which are truly democratic - where decisions are reached through consensus and where everyone participates fully. If we rely on the Government to become more democratic we will be waiting forever. We need to engage in the political process in ways other than voting. - B.
- Local control
- Decisions should be made by those who are affected by the decisions. Communities need to organize together and govern themselves. Because we are affected by our own choices, and are more familiar with the problems in our communities, we can make better decisions than a bunch of politicians working out of Ottawa. It is amazing how many people get upset that we don't vote in the Federal Election, when they themselves didn't vote in the local election of their school board. - F.
- Sumo Wrestling
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Decide elections by having the party leaders engage in Sumo Wrestling. While this wouldn't make for a fairer political system, it would at least be more entertaining (except for the part where we have to see the leaders' butt-cheeks) -J.
- Form and encourage alternative media
- It is impossible for people to make informed choices when the level of
debate is so shallow. The mainstream media completely trivializes issues,
and focuses their coverage on personalities, and polls. They cover the
election as if it were the Kentucky Derby. They exist to make profit, not to
serve the public. They don't investigate, they rewrite press releases.
Instead of news and analysis, we get infotainment and factoids.
The mainstream media is almost entirely owned by a few wealthy media
barons who have a vested interest in maintaining the corporatist status quo.
As Jello says, don't criticize the media, become the media. Independent media
provides people with an alternative to the homogeneous pap that passes for
news and analysis. - A.
- Darts not Ballots
-
The hell with ballots; polling stations should be set up with dartboards
as the means by which to select candidates. People who are more
committed to a particular candidate will be encouraged to practice more
to ensure that they don't vote for someone they find despicable. People
who are indifferent will obviously practice less, and aren't penalized
more than by the current crapshoot of guessing who will screw them the
least if they are elected. It will also help to encourage the growth of
a thriving dart paraphernalia industry in Canada, which would come in
handy when all the natural resources are given away. We would also be
able to
easily identify gifted darters who could then be sent abroad to
participate in international dart competitions, the winnings from which
could be spent to pay down the debt. -S.
- Campaign Finance Reform
- A rather minor
suggestion that even politicians occasionally pretend to get behind. Ban
corporations and unions from making political contributions (bribes), place
severe restrictions on third-party, and campaign spending. Public funding to
parties depending on how much support they receive. Regular disclosure
of contributers (right now, disclosure only occurs when it's too late)-R.
-
Survivor meets West Wing
-
Only assholes make decisions
about our future behind closed doors. Why the hell are cabinet meetings
secret? They're making decisions which affect us. So how about setting up
cameras in every meeting room, and televising the discussions. Then we get to
vote off the politicians that bug us the most. Last one left wins a book
contract. -J
- Proportional Representation
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Our winner-take-all electoral system means that most of the votes in the
Federal Election are wasted, forcing people to vote strategically, rather than
for what they believe. Only two majority governments in history have received
a majority of the votes cast. Small political parties get no voice, even if
they have the support of a significant portion of the population. A political
party can get 30% of the vote, and still hold 100% percent of the power, while
a party with 20% of the vote spread evenly across the country can wind up with
no seats in parliament. While hardly a panacea, if we institute
proportional representation (with a reasonable threshold so that nutcases
don't hold the balance of power) then voices which have traditionally been
silenced will be heard. There are many forms of proportional representation, some of which allow
local representation as well. -S.
- World wide
revolution with unlicensed pleasure as its only goal
- I don't think
I need to elaborate on this one... -V.
- Direct Democracy, not Representative Bureaucracy
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Members of parliament are forced to be neutral on all issues. Rather
than pushing through their particular agenda, they would exist to facilitate
and moderate national and local debates on issues, so that people could
directly and collectively make decisions. -M.
- Free Votes and Recall
- Even the Canadian Alliance pretends to support this (don't
hold your breath though; in order to gain more power they have completely
ditched even the pretense of being a grassroots party).
Currently, members of parliament have to vote the way the Prime Minister's Office tells them to (the cabinet has been described as a focus group for the Prime Minister's advisors). Members of parliament cannot represent their constituents. Even in the U.S. House and Senate, members do not have to vote along party line. Members of parliament should be forced to represent their constituents, and should be answerable to them. Constituents could have mechanisms (such as a method of recall) which they could use to force their member of parliament to represent their views. -Y
- Liberate the internet
-
Okay, we hear it so much that it's getting tedious, but the internet could be a tool for greater democracy. Instead it's turned into a giant shopping mall. By building strong alternative online communities, and ensuring that technology is accessible to everyone, the internet can be used to organize in a way which is decentralized, and transparent. -A.
- Better Acronyms
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What's with all those bad acronyms: WTOIMFNAFTAFTAAG7APECETC. There's even one called FEEEP! We need international organization with better acronyms, and hey, maybe they could even be democratic, serve the public interest, protect the environment, and regulate and tax transnationals.
. -K.
- Poets on Money
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Why the hell do politicians insist on putting portraits of their fellow politicians on money? Besides being a nauseatingly self-congratulatory club, politicians tend to be a bit homely. Poets on the five dollar bill! Drag queens on stamps! -J.
- Aboriginal Self-Government
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Hey, what are first nations complaining about? Indigenous people have the vote.... Enough of stall tactics and an endless treaty process - Indigenous sovereignty now. -C.
- Universal Suffrage
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Prison inmates can't vote. They should get the vote so that they can eat their ballots! -M.
- Open debate and consultation
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Require all government documents to be posted on the internet, and minutes of all meetings to be made public. Require full public consultation of any decision by government departments. Ban the practice of lobbyists being hired to hang out with their friends in Government to unfairly influence decisions. -T.
- The People's Senate
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We rely on twelve randomly chosen individuals to decide a person's guilt or innocence. Instead of a bunch of rich old geysers appointed to the Senate, randomly choose 350 people to decide whether each law should be passed. Now that would make for an interesting televised debate. -W
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