"Our democracy no longer represents the people. Here's how we fix it" is a 2015 TED Talk by Lawrence Lessig.
Lessig argues that American democracy is fundamentally flawed due to a system of "Tweedism" where a tiny fraction of the population – wealthy donors – exert disproportionate influence over political outcomes. He asserts that this "institutional corruption" stems from campaign finance practices and systemic inequalities, resulting in a government that is unresponsive to the needs and desires of the average citizen. He proposes a "Citizen Equality Act" to address these issues, emphasizing equal funding, equal representation, and equal freedom to vote.
Definition: Any two-stage process where a small group controls the nomination of candidates, effectively controlling the outcome of elections, even if the public votes.
Origin: Named after "Boss" Tweed of Tammany Hall, who famously said, "I don't care who does the electing, as long as I get to do the nominating."
Example 1: Hong Kong The 2014 Hong Kong protests against the People's Republic of China's proposed electoral law, which gave a tiny (0.02%) pro-Beijing committee the power to nominate candidates for Chief Executive. This demonstrates how a biased nominating process can produce a democracy responsive only to a select few.
Example 2: Texas All-White Primary (1923): In Texas, only whites were allowed to vote in the Democratic primary, the dominant party at the time, effectively excluding African Americans (16% of the population) from the crucial first stage of the electoral process. This resulted in a democracy responsive to whites only.
Concept: Campaign funding is its own primary, where candidates must appeal to wealthy donors to gain access to resources necessary to run a campaign.
Impact on Politicians: Candidates spend vast amounts of time "dialing for dollars," developing a "sixth sense" of how their actions will affect fundraising. This leads them to constantly adjust their views to please potential donors. This has an impact on issues not on the public agenda.
Quote: Leslie Byrne, a Democrat from Virginia, was told to "Always lean to the green" (meaning money, not environmentalism).
Statistics:
Result: This "Green Primary" is dominated by a tiny fraction of the 1%, leading to a democracy responsive to the funders only.
Princeton Study (Gilens and Page): The largest empirical study of government decisions found a strong correlation between the views of the economic elite and organized interest groups with actual government policies. The study found a flat-line correlation between the views of the average voters and policies.
Analysis: The preferences of average Americans have a "miniscule, near-zero, statistically non-significant impact on public policy."
Analogy: The image of citizens driving a bus, but with the steering wheel detached, symbolizing that citizens no longer have control over the direction of the country.
Argument: The problem is not just individual corrupt politicians, but a corrupt *system* that incentivizes them to prioritize wealthy donors and special interests, rather than the people.
Example: Congress, initially designed to be "dependent on the people alone," is now "dependent on the people *and the Tweeds*."
Focus: Lessig is not primarily focused on wealth inequality but rather on political inequality – the unequal influence of citizens within the democratic system.
Orwellian Analogy: "All animals are created equal, but the Tweeds are more equal than others." This echoes the idea that some have greater access to power than others.
Core Problem: This inequality allows the Tweeds to control the system and makes real democracy impossible.
Goal: To remove the fundamental inequalities within our representative system and to make it possible for Congress to "be dependent on the people alone".
Key Provisions:
Practical Reason: No other major issue (climate change, social security, student debt, etc.) will be effectively addressed until this fundamental problem of democratic inequality is resolved. It's the "first problem" to solve.
Moral Reason: 400 years after slavery, America has not yet achieved the goal of equality. The system is still designed to allow a political class of "second class citizens".
Reference to Martin Luther King: His quote “America is essentially a dream ... that all are created equal” highlights the gap between the dream of democracy and the current reality.
Lessig concludes by emphasizing the need for a national movement to fight for equality and restore the true meaning of representative democracy. He calls on people to learn from past generations who sacrificed for equality and to avoid squandering the opportunity to build the greatest democracy in the world.
In essence, Lessig's TED talk is a passionate and compelling call to action, urging citizens to recognize the systemic flaws in American democracy and to demand meaningful change.
