THE OLD DEMOCRACY IS DEAD!

Why Activism Fails

James F. Caldwell

If "Pressuring" The Government Would Work

You Wouldn't Have To Do It In The First Place

Despite innumerable heroic battles fought for pro-democracy causes, nothing of consequence has been accomplished since the end of the Vietnam War-Civil Rights Movement era. Organizers continue to fight for single-issue causes against the arrayed might of the Multinational Corporate World Empire (MCWE). The tactics include street protests and acts of civil disobedience, "write your congressman campaigns," lobbying campaigns, court challenges, and the like. The fact that pro-democracy groups have to resort to "pressure tactics" is itself the reason why they are doomed to fail. With few exceptions, the causes being championed would have been written into law and rigorously enforced long ago if America were a democracy. The fact that citizens groups have to pressure the government to protect national forests, clean up the air and water, prevent poisoning the oceans, provide health care for everyone, and on and on, is proof that the government is under the control of decidedly anti-democratic forces.

The Reason Pro-Democracy Forces Continue To Lose Battles

Is Because They Have Already Lost The War

The war for control of American government was decisively won by the MCWE in the 1970's. Since then, innumerable reform efforts have been attempted, and third party candidates have run for office all on the assumption that the current regime could be pressured into serving the best interests of the American people. Activists have failed to grasp the significance of the fact that what they want to do is contrary to the financial interests of the anti-democracy forces who actually control government. Consequently, congressmen who shake your hand and congratulate you for taking the lead in trying to protect the environment are busy working behind the scenes in committees to kill the very legislation they claim to support in public. Even when reform laws are passed, they are soon weakened and eventually undone by the powerful interests who actually control the government. This is business as usual. In order for democratic forces to take control of government, people have to find a new strategy for overthrowing the power of the MCWE. That can never be done in an election system where electing a candidate to office is identical to bringing a new product to market. Elections of that type will always favor candidates able to raise the most money, by fair means or foul. We do not live in a democracy, we are governed by a plutocracy rule by the power of money. Consequently, pro-democracy forces have been pushed out of government. That is the reason why activists resort to pressure tactics that are easily defeated by the MCWE. Without control of government, democratic forces can never implement and enforce democratic initiatives. That cannot be done now. THE OLD DEMOCRACY IS DEAD!

Pro-Democracy Forces Have No Viable Strategy

For Taking Control Of Government

Clearly, if old strategies and tactics are not working, new political ideas are necessary. However, because new ideas are unfamiliar to people, most people immediately discount them as impractical. On the contrary, the history of politics teaches that new ideas are capable of taking root and exploding onto the political landscape with amazing speed. The really powerful ones have brought down powerful regimes faster than anyone ever thought possible. The concept of Power Democracy is an idea of that force and power.

The only way to defeat the power of money to corrupt the political system is to eliminate the advantage that it provides in an election. This can be easily accomplished by switching from direct elections where everyone votes for a candidate running for office. Direct elections ensure that candidates have to reach a large constituency. This requires enormous amounts of money to run effectively. Power Democracy argues that indirect elections are more democratic, because they eliminate the advantage provided by having large amounts of money. An indirect election is conducted in a stepwise pyramid fashion. Simply put: At the bottom layer of the pyramid, a precinct for example, a candidate would have to canvass for and receive a minimum of 50 votes. That would make him or her a representative at the second level where she or he would have to receive the votes of at least 50 other representatives in order to proceed to the third level, and so on. The person elected at the top of the pyramid would have been elected by representatives of representatives all the way down to the grass roots level at the base of the pyramid. A pyramid election would greatly reduce the power of money to corrupt the election, would increase voter participation enormously, and could be conducted so as to provide for proportional representation, defeat gerrymandering, and make it possible to incorporate initiative and recall in the process as well. In every way, the concept of Power Democracy is superior to the present anti-democratic corrupt election system that keeps the MCWE in power. In order to be a real democracy, the people must NOMINATE their own candidates, LEGISLATE their will into law, and RULE by enforcing the laws they pass.

The old democracy is dead. The new democracy will only spring to life when you sow the seeds for its germination. If we are to win, all activists in pro-democracy causes must unite behind the super cause of Power Democracy! The nonviolent movement to make government truly of, by, and for the people in America by demanding the implementation of pyramid elections. Join in spreading The Power Democracy Call To Freedom:

"We the people NOMINATE!

We the people LEGISLATE!

We the people RULE!"

PowerDemocracy.org

281-367-9770