Leadership is one of the least articulated, yet most important dynamics in our modern society. With the worldwide backlash against established politics, we are widely considered to be in a “crisis of leadership,” a crisis that has come with a decades-long erosion of trust emanating from the increasing perception that our government representatives have become […]
Articles
Natural Rights
The emergence of modern democracy can be dated back to the Enlightenment intellectual movement in the eighteenth century. In a break from nearly all of human history, one dominated by thrones and despotes, the people demanded more of their government. They believed that they had a say in the matters of the state, and if […]
Cycles
Deliberation in Epitome
Tyranny of the majority
Sources: The brain image featured in this infographic was designed by Freepik. The speech bubbles image featured in this infographic was designed by Freepik. References: Australian marriage law postal survey. Swiss referendum on universal basic income. Brexit was linked to individual predictors of prejudice toward foreigners. Consensus decision-making.
Factions
Political parties are the monopolies of our democracy. In theory, this system would provide freedom yet order, inclusiveness yet efficiency, leadership yet accountability. However, the practice has rarely matched the theory. All definitions of democracy have a main theme: that power is exercised by the people. In reality though, power is exercised by those who […]
Unbefitting
In the building of our societies, our will is represented by professional policymakers. Essentially, representative democracy is a compromise between direct democracy and oligarchy. Even though our governments are still hierarchical and governed top-to-bottom, we now elect those who rule and expect them to ensure minority representation, be knowledgeable of societal issues, and work towards […]
Dichotomy
Democracy is not voting. It is a system of governance that bestows power on the population. The method we conceived in order to achieve this is through voting; however, it must be understood that a method is different from a system. So far, the only tool available for the people to express their will has […]
Demos & Kratos
A sequence of events allowed the birth of democracy in ancient Athens; the reforms of Solon which weakened the aristocracy and redefined citizenship, their reinstatement by Cleisthenes after the oligarchy reemerged, and the shrinkage of the power of Areopagus by Ephialtes, all leading to the flourishing of democracy during the time of Pericles. Giants stepped […]
Alternative
Since the dawn of time, we humans have been governed by a small group of individuals who would, most of the time, unethically force their way to the top so as to grab that privilege. History has shown time after time that, in the overwhelming majority of cases, those rulers would exploit their given power […]