Can there be such a thing as "too much democracy?" Is there a danger that the digital revolution will give too much power to citizens who aren't competent to use it?
The technology of the Information Age continues to transform many aspects of our daily lives. The "digital revolution" has given rise to opportunities to become connected to and/or active in political processes in ways that prior generations’ political theorists may not have ever even dreamt of.
Could the digital revolution create too much democracy? The answer may be different depending upon what type of democracy we are talking about ie. direct democracy vs representative democracy.
Newly coined terms such as e-democracy and e-inclusion, that might infer ideas of universal empowerment and digital cohesion, are dampened by the existence of a “digital divide” as we face issues of e-competencies, e-aging, e-accessibility, etc.
There are also those that would argue that for many having too many choices and having to make too many decisions could have the unintended result of their withdrawal from the political process.
http://ipdi.org/About/default.aspx
http://interactivedemocracy.blogspot.com/
http://www.access2democracy.org/
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“The cure for the ailments of democracy is more democracy.” -John Dewey
"Freedom is participation in power." -Cicero
The model is Switzerland, where people vote 3-7 times a year on local, Cantonal and national ballot initiatives. This keeps their Parliament honest and representing!
The most evolved project for a hybrid direct/representative democracy is led by former Sen. Mike Gravel. Registered voters can now vote to ratify the National Initiative for Democracy at http://Vote.org, much as citizens ratified the Constitution at the Conventions when the Legislatures wouldn't!
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