Good Morning, Michael
re: "Could you elaborate here? I want to look at problems of
feasibility. By what sequence of events (again 1, 2, 3)
might the community transit from the status quo to that
better future, as you envision it?"
I'm not sure what kind of elaboration you seek. All communities are
different in the sense that the spark that initiates changes in one can
be completely different from the spark that starts a flame in another.
Perhaps it would help to mention a specific instance:
A small community outside the United States with terrible living
conditions, a community that was victimized with kidnapping and mass
killings during a recent civil war, wants to find a new way to select
their local officials.
I've been asked, on behalf of the pastor of the community church, to
discuss Practical Democracy ...
http://participedia.net/methods/practical-democracy
... because it offers a rational way to identify the people best suited
to work out local problems. The pastor is a person who wants the best
for his people but has no personal political ambition. He is concerned
that the community (indeed, the entire area) has a very long history of
male dominance. Although women have political rights formally, it is
difficult for them to influence community action because there are
enough reactionaries to thwart their best efforts.
Practical Democracy, if adopted, lets women form a feminist party that
functions in parallel with any other groups in the village. This
ensures that the most resourceful women are not excluded by
thoughtlessness at the initial level(s) of the electoral process and are
integrated with the decision makers at the upper levels. This is one of
the reasons the pastor may encourage the community to adopt the
Practical Democracy concept. If they do so and it succeeds, other
communities in the area with similar problems are likely to adopt it, as
well.
Is that any help?
Fred
----
Election-Methods mailing list - see http://electorama.com/em for list info
