In the midst of a hectic presidential election season here in the USA, there is an increasing sense of political tension. When candidates are not inspiring, voters from all demographics – old, young, conservative, liberal – feel forced to pick the “lesser of two evils.” The two party system forces us to adhere to a predetermined platform that gives neither candidates nor voters the flexibility they desire. Debates are structured for politicians to showcase their personalities rather than engage in political discussions, transforming the presidential race into a popularity contest. Policymakers in congress are passing bills in accordance with their lobbyists and not the voters they were hired to represent, while contemporary media ignores this lawmaking and prioritizes individual candidates themselves. The system is broken, yet we continue to fight amongst ourselves about whom we want to run it. I’d like to take a step back and examine why we chose this governance structure more than 200 years ago and whether it is still an effective way to govern in our globally interconnected world.



A Representative Democracy



Democracies today were designed so that citizens could actively participate in the political process free from censorship and oppression. In the case of the United States, there was a strong resentment towards tyranny and overbearing governments following the American Revolution. The US Constitution created checks and balances on power and people elected representatives they felt would best reflect their own interests in the capitol. In a time before modern technology, before the Internet, telephones, or commercial electricity, this made sense. Elected officials had to travel for days by horse to reach Washington and vote on laws. There was no practical way every citizen wishing to participate in government could simultaneously travel to the same location; representatives were the solution. Politicians served predetermined length terms so they could be replaced if their constituents desired, but terms lasted years. It would have been too much work to hold elections more frequently with the technology available at the time. In the year 1800 this was a very efficient system; in year 2000, however, would you say the same?



The Internet



Worldwide instantaneous communication is something that humans have never experienced before.The printing press was one of the biggest inventions of the past millennium because it was a catalyst for widespread literacy and allowed information to travel faster than ever before. Books became accessible to average people who previously did not have the resources to learn to read. Over time, as literacy increased, the printing press helped reform religion and proliferate the use of double entry bookkeeping, a vital component in the development of capitalism and in the business world today.