Democracy has Failed Us (Again)
Democracy cannot work unless and until we have Economic Democracy - that is an economy controlled by local people and the accumulation of wealth limited by local people. Another general election has been bought by those that control the economy, control the media, and the UK public have again sat back and been complicit in allowing big money to grab a firmer hold of the reins of power. This report (https://www.mediareform.org.uk/media-ownership/who-owns-the-uk-media) clearly details how corporations control the media, and the British public - they have again lapped up the bullshit, bought into the Brexit story, and ransomed their children's wellbeing for the sake of their own sense of safety. Democracy is not working, it has been the bludgeoning tool that big money has used to beat the masses into submission. Last century, religion may have been the opiate of the masses, this century, the drug of choice has become more refined - they beat us with the very tool we use to cry for freedom. We need to insulate democracy from the influence of capital - this is the essence of Economic Democracy - allowing people to truly make good choices free from the influence of those that want to maintain their fortunes. To do this, we need to make some changes:- 1) Decentralised economics - local taxation and local control of distribution of funds. We have to move away from a government corrupted by a large central pot of funds that large corporations prey on. This has lead us to the uncomfortable relationship between big business and government. 2) Free movement of peoples, NOT free movement of money. Local money needs to stay local and be used locally. Corporations especially should not be able to move money in and out of regions at will, and particularly should not be able to donate to campaigns in regions where they are not based. 3) Fairly funded elections - there needs to be a cap on election funds and all candidates need to receive equal funding. It needs to be about policy not bank accounts. 4) A qualified vote - we need a non-discriminatory way to qualify voters to ensure our electorate comprises those that have understood the issues sufficiently. In the age of technology, surely this is possible. Lastly, we need to stop idolising Democracy as a cure all, and see it for what it has become - a tool to suppress and exploit the people. Economic Democracy is a qualified term that can bring new hope to our electoral process.