Good experiment but, in my opinion, direct democracy begins with information. I want to see the entire accounts, every bill, every pay check, every municipal contract, being presented, in real-time, online for all to examine. Large groups (like citizens of a town) are very good at data mining. It would take them just a few weeks, if not less, to identify all the areas of mismanagement and, possibly, incidents of corruption. Real questions could be asked and elected officials would have to be a lot more careful in their financial planning. We should not judge politicians on what they say that they are going to do but just on what they really do. Twowan. Check my profile.

This will take some time to form a good opinion, but here are my first thoughts.
I seem to remember something from high school about the difference between a republic and a democracy being more than just an informed citizenry. I will have to refresh myself on the differences. I like the consensus building possibilities, but the implementation might have jumped into the middle of the process. What I mean is that consensus building is at times more effective when a clear vision and mission is agreed upon in the beginning. The creation of a balanced budget is more a constraint than a vision. What should the city look like in five years? That said it is possible the aggregation of many interest might lead to a shared vision if the construct allows for buy in to be realized at the individual level. The big question seems to be, how does each input become more valuable than a factor determined by the number of votes it receives? How can we enable citizens to take another’s input, internalize it, and push forward toward this now shared goal?
I will get back with you tomorrow with all the answers. Just joking.

Twowan and Bart – Thanks to both of you for your thoughts.

Twowan – I absolutely agree with you that transparent information is very important. I would love to see more real-time information, and I think that in many instances, government would be more accountable if they knew that citizens had the ability to scrutinize expenditures to the degree you’re talking about.

Bart – Excellent theoretical questions, and I’m not sure I have the answers either. I don’t think the Freiburg case is by any means perfect. But I do think that we’re finally seeing some potential that future developments can build upon. As for how well these future developments can address your questions, we’ll have to wait and see.

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