Democracy

Why include Healthy Democracy on a site for Wellbeing Economy?

A healthy democracy is all of the people working on behalf of all of the people. As you read through the Economics section of our site, you see how often who makes the rules affects the economy.

When a political system is out of balance, those with money, power and access make the rules and form them to work better for them. An unhealthy political system also promotes conflict and division instead of shared vision and shared values. The best systems for wellbeing are ones where the people affected by a decision are also the ones making the decision. Healthy democracies provide such a framework. 

Our Vision for a Healthy Democracy

We encourage civic engagement on the local and national level. We would remove the election and lobbying industries so that we can focus more on what citizens want. We would train ourselves on the basics of healthy discourse and establish ways to engage in dialogue regularly. We would use deliberative citizen panels to listen to experts and report back in simple, clear language so that our communities can understand the complexities of the issues. We would encourage systems thinking and appreciate the interconnectedness of all citizens, countries and nature. 

Each topic below requires effort to bring it to life. We hope that more of us will dig in and support one or more of these efforts. Each and every success can be both an example for others to build upon and to restore our faith that we can collaborate to co-create the world we desire.

You can help us bring this vision to life. See what can be done in your community or take a stance on a national issue. Find others here to partner with or form coalitions to build an even stronger movement.