Saving Democracy

In it and on this site, I diagnose contemporary political ills as symptoms of corruption in our large republic and develop a new understanding of representative democracy. Formal political inclusion is guaranteed to every American adult, yet, sadly, informal exclusion remains a reality for all but a privileged few. We live in an age of 24-hour news and are bombarded with political information on demand. Yet as congressional districts have grown enormous (once 30,000 to 1: now more than 650,000 constituents per representative), it is no surprise that Americans are feeling increasingly disconnected from their government.

Building on the ideas of James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, I want to show how it is possible and practical to combine the traditional town hall and the Internet to fashion a new theory of representative government that empowers citizens and bridges the enormous gap that now exists between the political elite and the average voter.

Under my plan, laid out in Saving Democracy, in each of the nation’s 435 congressional districts a local assembly of 100 citizens, selected by lot, would meet to discuss the major domestic and international issues. The role of this assembly would be deliberative and advisory and its views would constitute a second, more sophisticated and informed measure of public opinion than traditional public opinion polls. The next step would be the establishment of the People’s House, which would hold actual legislative power.

I invite you to explore Saving Democracy and to contribute to the dialogue I start with this site.