“In our political system, money is power. And that means a few can have a lot more power than the rest. That's bad news for everyone else - and for our democracy itself.” MeanPoliticalDemocracyNewsPolitical SystemsBad News Author:Al Franken
“The danger is not only that these austerity measures are killing the European economies but also that they threaten the very legitimacy of European democracies - not just directly by threatening the livelihoods of so many people and pushing the economy into a downward spiral, but also indirectly by undermining the legitimacy of the political system through this backdoor rewriting of the social contract.” PeoplePoliticalSocialEconomyDemocracyDangerKillingPushingContractsThreateningPolitical SystemsLivelihoodSpiralsLegitimacyRewritingUnderminingAusteritySocial ContractDownward SpiralBackdoor Author:Ha-Joon Chang
“New information technologies-including email, the web, and computerized blast-faxes and phone calls-have fundamentally changed the landscape of political competition in modern democracies. They've done so in three ways: by dramatically boosting the access of individuals and special interests to politically potent information, by making it easier for such people to coordinate their activities and exert political power, and by greatly increasing the pace of events within our political systems.” PeopleWayDonePoliticalThreePoliticsIndividualInterestTechnologyDemocracyModernSpecialEventsInformationChangedInternetEasierActivityCompetitionIncludingPhonesAccessLandscapePaceEmailBlastPolitical SystemsPhone CallsInformation TechnologyPolitical PowerSpecial InterestsCoordinatesNew InformationThree WaysFax Author:Thomas Homer-Dixon
“You can have a broad popular democracy movement and have it end being taken over by the most vicious people and the result is you don't end up with free political systems or free economic systems, you end up with a handful of radicals controlling the country.” PeopleEndsCountryPoliticalResultsDemocracyTakenEconomicMovementRadicalBroadsViciousHandfulPolitical SystemsEconomic Systems Author:Donald Rumsfeld
“In the United States the government has become less important. So, it's democracy, but as each year passes it seems that the government plays less of a role in people's lives, and so they're living in whatever situation their employment imposes upon them more than they're living in a grand political system.” PeopleYearsImportantStatesPlaySeemsGovernmentPoliticalUnitedSituationRolesUnited StatesDemocracyEmploymentPolitical Systems Author:Will Oldham
“The political system of the People's Republic of China can make things easy. Decisions are made quickly and results come quickly, too. In our democracy [in India], on the other hand, such things are extremely difficult.” PeopleMadeHandsPoliticalEasyDifficultDecisionResultsDemocracyIndiaChinaRepublicPolitical Systems Author:Ratan Tata
“The role of campaign contributions in our political system and the role of lobbyists have now reached levels that are quite unhealthy for the operations of our democracy. But the antidote, as in past eras of lobbyist excess, is for more involvement by citizens to build pressure on members of the House and Senate to serve the public interest.” PastPoliticalHouseInterestLevelsRolesDemocracyCitizensMembersPressureCampaignsErasOperationsContributionExcessSenateInvolvementAntidoteUnhealthyPolitical SystemsPublic InterestLobbyistsCampaign Contributions Author:Al Gore
“Democracy is the current industry standard political system, but unfortunately it is ill-suited for a libertarian state.” StatesPoliticalDemocracyIndustryStandardsIllCurrentsLibertarianPolitical Systems Author:Patri Friedman
“Political systems must love poverty-they produce so much of it. Poor people make easier targets for a demagogue. No Mao or even Jiang Zemin is likely to arise on the New York Stock Exchange floor. And politicians in democracies benefit from destitution, too. The US has had a broad range of poverty programs for 30 years. Those programs have failed. Millions of people are still poor. And those people vote for politicians who favor keeping the poverty programs in place. There's a conspiracy theory in there somewhere.” PeopleYearsStillsPoliticalPoorPovertyMillionsDemocracyNew YorkProduceTheoryPoliticianEasierBenefitsProgramVoteFavorsAriseRangeTargetBroadsConspiracyPoor PeoplePolitical SystemsConspiracy TheoryMaoStock ExchangeNew York StockNew York Stock Exchange Book:Eat the Rich: A Treatise on Economics Source: Eat the Rich: A Treatise on Economics
“Either we figure out how to keep corporate cash out of the political system or we lose the democracy.” PoliticalLosesDemocracyFiguresCorporateCashPolitical Systems Author:Molly Ivins
“There is a reason why these people [from Wall Street] are putting huge amounts of money into our political system. And in my view, it is undermining American democracy and it is allowing Congress to represent wealthy campaign contributors and not the working families of this country.” PeopleCountryReasonPoliticalViewsDemocracyStreetsHugeWallAmountCongressCampaignsReason WhyWealthyAllowingPolitical SystemsUnderminingContributorsAmerican Democracy Author:Bernie Sanders
“I'm sort of always trying to reinvent and recreate a better way of being, because, you know, democracy has been "the worst of all political systems except for all the rest." So I think we have a lot of room to grow and be a better society, and it's a constant battle. It's an exciting opportunity to be active.” ThinkingKnowsWayTryingHas BeensPoliticalOpportunityGrowsRoomsDemocracyWorstBattleExcitingConstantActiveAlways TryingBetter WaysPolitical SystemsDemocracies Have Author:Adrian Grenier
“I don't like the current political system in the USA and some other countries. Increasingly democracy has been hijacked by corporate interests.” Has BeensCountryPoliticalInterestDemocracyCurrentsCorporateUsaOther CountriesPolitical SystemsDemocracies Have Author:Neil Young
“Its [Dreams from My Father] also a reflection about how we might start a better conversation in our democracy about how to solve problems, because it feels as if our political system - it just seems there is so much cynicism and negativity in our politics.” IfsFeelsProblemDreamSeemsMightPoliticalFatherDemocracyConversationReflectionSolveCynicismNegativityPolitical SystemsDreams From My Father Author:Barack Obama
“Part of what we have to do a better job of, if our democracy is to function in a complicated diverse society like this, is to teach our kids enough critical thinking to be able to sort out what is true and what is false, what is contestable and what is incontestable. And we seem to have trouble with that. And our political system doesn't help.” IfsThinkingEnoughHelpingSeemsKidsAbleJobsPoliticalTeachDemocracyTroubleFunctionComplicatedCriticalDiverseCritical ThinkingPolitical SystemsBetter JobsDiverse Society Author:Barack Obama