A better world is possible - Global Commons Institute

Copyright Bruce Nixon 2010. All rights reserved. This electronic copy is provided free for personal, non-commercial use only.
www.brucenixon.com
candidacy age reduced to 16; a commission to encourage women, ethnic minorities, people on lower
incomes, young people and independents to stand; £10,000 limit on individual donations to parties;
decentralising power from central to local government; curbs on the powers of party “whips”; more powers
for select committees to hold ministers to account and tighter rules on plurality of media ownership.
Participation, not consultation Democracy needs to be, not only representative, but also participatory. It
needs to involve and engage people. That means devolving power and adopting the principle of Subsidiarity
– an organizing principle that matters ought to be handled by the smallest, lowest or least centralised
competent authority.
New opportunities for involvement through the internet The internet provides new opportunities for
involvement. President Obama seized this opportunity to engage younger people and people who had never
been engaged in politics before. He used it to raise funds in a new more democratic way - from ordinary
people - instead of relying on large corporations and wealthy people as his predecessors did. His campaign
raised more than any previous one. Three and a half million people signed up to his website and he keeps
them informed as part of his pledge for open government.
More power at a local level. To unlock democracy, radical legislation is needed that gives more power at a
local level, to local councils and communities. That is not the only way of giving people involvement but it is
extremely important. Arguably it would lead to far better decisions than those imposed by remote advisors
in Whitehall, county halls and borough councils. Local people are the experts on what their community
needs and wants.
“Not in my back yard,” NIMBYism, is a sound principle for protecting the planet, says Satish Kumar. If you
would not want something in your back yard, that is a sure indication that it is not fit for anyone’s back yard.
Better informed citizens For democracy to work citizens must be well informed. They need readily accessible,
balanced information from sources that do not treat them as stupid or subject them to constant corporate
advertising. Government often does its best to make a case, deny, withhold or distort information. Iraq is the
outstanding example; others are the case for GM and nuclear power. Lack of integrity and due diligence
ultimately become evident, result in disastrous consequences and undermine our democracy.
Bold, investigative journalism is vital. Newspapers struggle in the face of competition from the internet and
the enormous costs of fighting legal actions brought by large corporations and rich individuals. Tesco
presented the Guardian with a bill for £800,000 of which £350,000 was for Tesco to explain themselves on
the subject of tax avoidance. Eventually the cost would have been nearly £1m, so the case was settled
confidentially. Equally important for local communities, local newspapers suffer from reduced advertising
revenues. Their loss leaves communities without reliable source of local news.
Giving power to the people also requires giving citizens the right to recall representatives and, if enough
people support it, a right to local or national referenda on vital issues. Constituents need the right to recall
MPs and councilors outside of election time and force a by-election.
Progress has been made
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