You’ve probably heard of the term “Grassroots Democracy”. If you haven’t, tune it as we’ll be taking a much closer look at the concept and how it may end up changing the world.
What is it?
By definition, a grassroots democracy is the inclination to form political processes wherein the decisions are made by the country or organization’s lowest demographic. Think of it in terms of a pyramid. The way our usual government system works is that a few or the “top” get to decide on reforms that affect every hierarchy of the pyramid.
A grassroots democracy shifts that. Instead of those in the top making the decisions, it’ll be those in the bottom. This is a concept which the Green Party of the United States (GPUS) likes to throw around.
So the power is with the people?
As far as we have ever known, our government has always taken oligarchic forms. We see this every election season: Politicians, who are born and bred in wealth, claiming to understand what it’s like for the ordinary citizens of this country.
The grassroots democracy movement puts forth the idea that the people are directly involved with the decisions that affect their daily lives. Rather than having a single representative that might be out of touch with their demographic.
What’s so good about letting the people decide?
A common complaint of the everyday citizen is that our leaders and representatives pass laws and reforms that directly affect their lives—yet these very people seem to live in a bubble. For example, our president is currently trying to remove the ACA (which has helped countless Americans) but he, himself, will not suffer any consequences.
If he ever falls ill, he provided the very best of medical care simply by being our president. Also, even if wasn’t our president, he would be able to afford the best medical care anyway. Most other politicians are also like this. So the average American voter is left to suffer consequences that do not faze the ones making the decisions.
By letting the people themselves be in charge of decision making, a more practical and realistic view of reforms can be made.
Does literally everyone get a say?
By virtue of the grassroots democracy, yes they do. Our current voting system has seen its share of evolution. Back in the day there were several of the demographic that weren’t allowed to vote. In a grassroots democracy, all are given voices to speak.
Why don’t we have this now?
This is simple: it is because of the gridlock of the duopoly of the Republicans and the Democrats. These two parties make it virtually impossible for any third party to have a chance to be heard.
We are at a critical point in our history as a country. Violence is prevalent and the people cry out in anger. It seems that the systems we put in place to protect us no longer do so. And thus, it must come to change.
