Introduction to the 2018
Virgin Constitutional Convention
Briefly,
what is the Virgin Constitutional Convention?
A real convention is a
closeted affair with local delegates protecting their accidental
borders, ancient customs and power centers. Our Virgin model posits a
fictional nation (Franklin21) which has tasked the world’s top
minds to create a model fit for modern concepts of rational, popular
government.
Designed to spur public
dialogue, it’s hoped that international media will follow along as
on-line delegates debate subjects like to how to choose and limit
representatives, how to maximize substantive discourse while
minimizing pandering and methods for preventing control of government
by the rich.
It’s hoped that concepts of
new institutions and customs will help today’s struggling nations.
Why
does the world need a successor to Western or liberal democracy?
When the Soviet Union fell,
there was hope that Russia would assume a nurturing popular system.
When Desert Spring hit Egypt, there seemed an opening for change.
When Chavez died, the world hoped for better outcome in Venezuela.
There is an emerging consensus
that things are moving in the wrong direction. You can get a pretty
good sense of this by reading recent summaries from Freedom House and the Economist Intelligence Unit. You might
also visit books like The Post-American World, Counter-Revolution,
A World in Disarray, On Tyranny or The Retreat of Western Liberalism.
What does “virgin”
mean?
It means a blank slate. We
have a warehouse of knowledge from the past two centuries. That’s
both invaluable and a curse. The convention of 1787 didn’t try to
clone the House of Lords, but it’s Senate became the H of L West.
If you wanted to delay children’s rights to education instead of
working in a factory, it was your go-to tool. Ditto worker rights.
The popular house tried many times to advance civil rights with H of
L West always blocking. You could say that it only failed in its
“duty’ thanks to historical accident via bullet. An
anti-apartheid Southern president, LBJ, broke the wall.
Virgin means establishing
objectives and weighing possibilities. It doesn’t mean starting
with parties, legislatures or elections as we know them.
These problems may be
evident, but doesn’t the idea of invention neglect the possibility
of reform?
It’s true that popular
systems have a constant undercurrent pushing reform but, like the
design of new auto engines to reduce pollution, success means loss
for those who profit from the status quo. Also, invention allows for
fundamental change while reform, even if implemented, typically
ignores founding assumptions that no longer exist.
For example, the US, system
came from a period where nine out of ten lived on farms. There was no
public education, few forms of concurrent exchange. If its
constitution had been written in 2000 instead of 1787, it might look
very different.
Consider just one example of
the limits of reform. By 1970 the United States had finished a
century where its Congress was typically given low marks by its
people. In 1948, for example, Harry Truman won the presidency running
against a “Do-Nothing Congress.” A reform effort, Common Cause,
(link) enlisted hundreds of thousands in an effort to make the
legislature more transparent and campaigns for office less expensive.
A half-century later, it costs ten times more to run for office. A
recent 11,000 page tax bill was passed unread and un-analyzed. The
minority party wasn’t even allowed to enter the design
conversation. A sad conclusion seems justified: the institution’s
resistance to reform is stronger than the people’s wishes for
repair.
What are possible changes
that an updated democratic system might employ?
The Virgin Convention will
obviously look at the idea of government control by political
parties, the dangers presented by singular Executives and election
pandering that advantages demagogues. It’s not my place to guess
what they’ll come up with, only to give the world’s best minds an
opportunity to consider such questions.
How will the Virgin
Convention work? The first modern, written constitution took a full
summer to complete in a sweaty Philadelphia.
Since the delegates live all
over the world, it’s an on-line production. The process might take
place over two or three weeks. Currently October of 2018 is the time
frame.
In Philadelphia guards were
put at the entry and delegates were forbidden to speak out of doors,
so that the members could reflectively design. Will the Virgin affair
be held in secret?
To the contrary - we want the
public to follow along. Success will find newspapers and media
discussing offerings and conclusions. If it’s just an academic
exercise, it will be ignored and we will have missed an opportunity.
Doesn’t such a reveal of
individual thinking open them to public abuse?
Members
will assume pen names during the process. This increases candor while
protecting them from abuse. Even after the 1787 Philadelphia
conclusion, three delegates
explained
the new system’s advantages under a pseudonym, Publius, for the
famous Federalist Papers.
The reasoning: Focus on ideas instead of personalities.
Can you give us an idea how
a day of the convention might work? Might it reveal a sub-committee’s
conclusion or a dialogue between certain members?
Yes to both. We have several
approaches to organizing the affair. One is to post a particular
subject, like what process will select representatives without
relying on propaganda, as today? Another is daily journals from
members who summerise the day’s activities or an increasing
consensus or roadblock.
The delegates will present
a new system for the fictional nation of Franklin21. What does this
accomplish?
This puts meat on the bones –
makes it more real to those following along. Instead of talking about
the difficulty of urban vs. rural, you can visualize the difficulty
of Los Angeles working with wilderness tribes near the Arctic Circle.
When sustainability is discussed, the widely different conditions of
Saskatchewan from Oregon can be used. In sum, it helps the public
understand the difficulties of nation building.
Critics will say that
Franklin21 is an effort at succession?
It’s just a fiction. But
that does raise the important subject of how a future democracy might
face splintering. We have several real-world examples now. Does a
nation send in forces and arrest instigators, as recently in Spain,
or will advanced nations make constitutional allowances? There’s
always a contest between stability and collective freedoms.
Who selects the Virgin
Constitutional Convention delegates?
An organizing committee is
being formed for that purpose. Respected writers are being asked to
nominate delegates. Hopefully all continents will participate.
When will the Convention be
held?
The date is open – it’s
tentatively set for October of 2018.
Who will fund the project?
There will be no problem
getting support, but this is not an expensive process. There is so
much concern about a 21st century return to the 20th
century’s decades of war that many are willing to volunteer
services.
So, is the Virgin project
an attempt to write a new constitution for the US. or other
long-established nations?
No. Its conclusions will be
more useful to struggling nations. Autocracy is on the march. Needed
are models of moderation that can overcome the “charm” of
despotism.
There are roughly a dozen
nations with highly rated political systems. Why not just copy those?
There is much to learn from
nations like Sweden, Norway, Denmark, etc. But I doubt that Egypt or
Venezuela could simply adapt their rich traditions, education
and economy. A new kind of democracy might be able to move a nation
with poor literacy, economic blight and sectarian violence into a
nurturing system. The current practice of establishing parties based
on existing differences and holding mass elections has proven
problematic.
Maybe as population
continues to climb, the best answer isn’t simply democracy, but
some hybrid system. China says their system is superior, giving the
United States as an example of the failure of the democratic model.
A few decades ago, China was a
third-world wreck and its favorite sport the murder of its own
people. It deserves a lot of credit for the economic and peaceful
progress that it has make. However, China is marshaling facts but
fumbling logic.
America’s problems come from
its increasingly undemocratic practices. Presidential elections, as
Robert A. Dahl has written, fail most basic standards of democratic
discourse. Donald Trump didn’t win because he’s a demagogue, he
won because a damaged system favors demagogues. The public
understands congressional inadequacy: Three-quarters say that it
works for deep pockets and narrow interests, not for the general
welfare.
US problems don’t prove the
demise of liberal systems. Unlike despotic systems, democracies have
the capability of healing without violence. A world of healthy
systems would mean a decrease in the likelihood of war. A world of
despotism will always be a world of wars.
Why use Franklin21 as the
focus of the Virgin project? Is this necessary?
The aim is to engage the
public as much as possible. Actual geography holding real people
brings theory alive. How might a distributed government work? Might
F21 have mini-capitals from Hawaii, Alaska or Saskatchewan and all
the way to San Diego on the Mexican border?
Why are you the person to
run the Virgin project?
I’m only kick-starting it.
Once the organizing committee is established – aiming for June –
it will be an international effort. I’ve blogged for political
invention since 1995. This is my last try to make a difference. Some
of my blogs:
If you have questions or
would like to nominate someone for the organizing effort, please
write to gmail at the user name adultdemocracy.
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