Democracy

By Dave Lewit, October 7, 2009Presented at Mass Coalition for Healthy Communities conference on Relocalization, October 18, 2009

Boston Tea Party• Bold action for

democracy. • Defying distant

corporate and government rule.

• Regional systems are already working

Corporate Personhood• Nowhere in the

Constitution are corporations given any rights.

Towns say no to corporate privilege

• Voters pass laws asserting local authority over corporations.

• Instant runoff voting (IRV) enables folks to vote their mind; encourages new parties.

Participatory Budgeting (PB) • A tradition in New

England town meetings.

• Now in big cities with big revenues.

Education and Media• Today they

domesticate. Tomorrow they could liberate.

• They could wither discrimination and corporate power

Justice• Try restorative justice,

not retribution. • Don’t let lawyers

eliminate sophisticated jurors

Globalization’s Local Impacts • Citizen trade

commissions are up and running.

Subsidiarity

• Empowerment through local decisions.

• Not top-down patronizing and fostered helplessness.

Regional Integration• United Communities.• Reform of Home Rule

law a first step.