Changing the World
via the tradesman’s entrance
Representation
It’s no secret that for decades the only option for the US electorate, at the national level, is which corporate sellout to vote for. The recent UK general election has shown the exact same tendency. It makes a mockery of our purported democracy. Though in theory our free elections give us direct access to the halls of power only the deluded believe this to be true.
Pure democracy (in terms of electoral politics) is only a theory . Power corrupts so that even the built in checks and balances fail at some point and it’s got to the point where very few of our politicians are viewed with the respect they demand or expect. However, in anything resembling a free society we do have the right of assembly, to protest and to lobby. This is a complementary arm of democracy and though it holds no official power its more potent than the vote.
Protest and lobbying also promote us to more than mere numbers. As a voter you are effectively an anonymous tick on a ballot voting only for a representative, not a policy. Members in the UK Parliament vote as delegates only being held to account by the House of Lords who might give a free pass on bills contained in the King’s Speech. It’s therefore vital that MP’s are reminded they are there to represent those who elected them and even…
