Another article about which to be highly skeptical. And I am really-really-really skeptical about Bitcoin, which seems to me to be a waste of everyone's time. However, the article highlights some interesting material, especially the concept of "political startups." That is, to work with the idea, as in business, not every startup can possibly succeed, but some will, and those that do achieve even limited success can change the system in important ways. Billy -------------------------------- from the site: Techradar.pro Why tech is on the verge of changing the political process forever In depth Young folks are more political than ever – just not formally
By _Jay McGregor _ (http://www.techradar.com/us/author?searchTerm=Jay McGregor) July 22, 2014 It's a bleak time to be young. The 30-something-and-below generation is facing huge debts, long hours, low pay and an ever-disappearing retirement age. The cost of higher education in 2014 would've been enough to buy a three bedroom house 30 years ago. When a graduate enters the workforce, they can either look forward to being used as a political football, or a punching bag when one of the three main parties' PR machines needs "tough on welfare" headlines. Critics argue that the young bear the brunt of the worst policies because they're politically disengaged – that they'd rather read about Nick Cage than Nick Clegg. As a result politicians see no benefit in appealing to them because the favour isn't returned at the ballot box. It's certainly true that the 18-24 age group had the lowest turnout at the last General Election (44%). But is it true that they're politically disengaged? Or is that they'd rather watch the Daily Show with Jon Stewart than the Daily Politics with Andrew Neil? Obvious evidence You only need to look at the evidence to answer that question. The 2010 student fees protests, this year's 50,000 strong people's assembly protests, the call to arms by Russell Brand and subsequent endless debates on social media, the various Occupy movements around the world, the recent Israel/Palestine protests around the UK and every other protest across the globe that has toppled a regime in the last 5 years – all have a distinctly young face. Young people are more political than ever, just not formally. The very core of the anti-1% narrative has been moulded by the young, the people who have to work until they're 80 and pay for the mistakes of a few from the previous generation. It's now accepted thinking that young people are, ostensibly, screwed But the response from today's youth hasn't been to queue up at the ballot box, largely because they think the system is flawed and the representatives don't represent them. A declining voter turnout over the last 30 years suggests that the rest of the electorate are starting to think so too. What young people are doing is far more ambitious; they're working towards a fundamental change in the way we govern and they're using technology as the vehicle. Disruption is key The concept of a political startup that focuses entirely on disrupting the political process is the result of the tech boom, disenfranchised but highly skilled young people, and the realisation that technology has the ability to topple a regime in a matter of weeks. A good example is the US-based PlaceAVote, a startup that wants to replace elected representatives with candidates who vote on legislation based on how their constituents tell them to vote. It's a form of Greek Direct Democracy that works within the confines of the current American political system. PlaceAVote is planning to field 50 congressional candidates for the 2016 elections and it's looking for more. It says that it's fielding "high-quality" candidates, but they'll act simply as a proxy for the registered online participants. The PlaceAVote team are quite clear about their intentions, they describe their project as "the most transparent and auditable system ever". The startup is also clear about why it feels this project is important: "We are all committed to democracy and we are all contributing to start this grassroots effort without collecting a dime from special interest groups. We believe influence shouldn't be purchased from a politician at the public's expense, rather earned from the American public." Idealism issues Whilst well intentioned, it comes across as an idea that's born out of a merry pub rant between two uninformed idealists. There are obvious obstacles to implementing such a system, the most obvious being people brazenly voting on legislation they don't understand or haven't bothered to read Luke at PlaceAVote explained that "every bill will be a subreddit of sorts and there will be discussion under each one". Essentially a public debate will take place online and summaries of legislation should help voters digest information. It sounds a bit reckless and possibly far-fetched, a criticism often thrown at youthful endeavours, but the most radical ideas are rarely fully formed at inception. Whilst PlaceAVote wants to disrupt, others are looking to educate. Napster inventor Sean Parker is launching a venture to give US "citizens an easy and social way to take action on the issues they care about". Not much more is known than that, but it seems like he's going down the route of internet activism like Avaaz or Change.org. In India, Sirish and Kavita Reddi have launched a project called Voxta, which lets those without an internet connection in India dial into a database of recorded political messages and speeches and find out what local and national political candidates are promising. Internet activists, too, like Change.org, Avaaz and SumOfUs are frequently emailing out petitions and running successful campaigns against the world's injustices Bitcoin impact These initiatives are having real-world effects on the state of world affairs whilst simultaneously educating those on issues that may otherwise pass them by. But they're a small beer in comparison to boat-rocking financial startups that are increasingly asserting more influence. Bitcoin, and cryptocurrencies in general, are perhaps the most obvious disruptors that have managed to force governments to play along or regulate them to hell, like the Chinese administration did at the end of last year when it banned banks from handling any Bitcoin transactions. Bitcoin stands a real chance of toppling a financial system because it represents a different, more open, attitude to the traditional closed cronyism world of finance. The founder of a Bitcoin ATM in Barcelona gave an interview on a BBC Radio 4 documentary about how he had started this project purely to disrupt and avoid another cog-in-the-machine 9-5. It's that brazen confidence that summarises the very core of the political technology class of 2014 and it has the politicians running scared. Grim times Why exactly have young people taken this route of political activism and disruption, rather than participate in the formal political process? What caused this rebellious streak? Is it the increased number of higher educated people? Or have they been forced to think outside the box because the inside of the box is so unflinchingly grim? Duncan Exley, director of the Equality Trust, thinks it's the latter: "Research shows that people in less equal countries have less interest in politics, and less confidence in their parliament. This is a real problem for the UK given its rising inequality. It's little wonder the young feel particularly disenfranchised as it is they who are the real losers of rising inequality. "Entry level jobs are now simply dead-end jobs, and youth unemployment remains shockingly high. It's unsurprising that young people are looking at new ways to engage in activism outside of the traditional political process." The reality is that the combination of inequality, distrust of the political system and a highly skilled and ambitious generation will prove toxic for the establishment. As startups continue to appear in their thousands, so will politically minded ones, and we'll eventually see a radical shift in political thinking and the fundamental way in which the world is governed. This generation won't be remembered for their apathy, but – through technology – their huge contribution to world politics. . -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
