Lower tiers give experience for the higher tiers
The “check engine” light on my car’s dashboard flashed. I took a quick look under the engine to see if anything was leaking. No leaks meant I could run my car for a while longer.
Next day, I took my car to my mechanic. I hung around the office while he was probing the car’s computer. There were about 10 certificates on the wall with mechanics’ names. The shop owner employed a handful of licensed mechanics. All of them went to school and followed the apprentice rules and obligations to get that piece of paper.
Mechanics must prove their worth to society before they are allowed to work as a licensed mechanic. Most professional and technical occupations require licensing . . .
. . . except for politicians.
Politicians do not have to show any qualifications that they know anything on how to run a society.
They only need to do three things. First, they must join the political party that mostly matches their political inclinations. Being a volunteer for the party gives them experience and a network. Second, they must win the internal party election to become the party candidate. Usually, they need a small team of knowledgeable party workers who know how to run an internal campaign and are willing to do the drudgery tasks to win that election. And often, future favors are expected. Last, they need to win the general election. Many times, the voters have already decided which party they will vote for. So the quality of the candidate is usually irrelevant in the general election. So winning the internal party election is the most important step to gaining a seat in the legislature.
Political Scientists
Mechanics must prove their qualifications to society before they can practice mechanics.
Pilots must prove their qualifications worth to society before they can fly airplanes.
Cardiologists must prove their qualifications before they can operate on our hearts.
But politicians. Well, they just win the internal party election, as if that contest has something to with establishing highway laws or dealing with the homeless or fighting racism or licensing mechanics, pilots, and cardiologists.
If there was an education for politicians, it would be “political science.” The Ph.D.’s in this field seem to know how governance actually works. But have you noticed that few political scientists ever cross from their commentary roles and into the actual fray? Instead, we get lawyers, business people, and activists.
Politicians: a profession with no qualifications.
Tiered Democratic Governance (TDG)
Right now, there is no qualification to be an elected representative in the TDG. It’s almost a case of having a warm body.
Well, not quite so. The only people who would assume this job must have these two qualifications:
1) They realize that western democracy is broken and cannot be repaired.
2) They are willing to invest 10 hours a month to build a new democracy.
For sure, 99% of citizens do not have these qualifications. But for the 1% who do, the job of TDG builder is theirs.
The 1% will teach, mostly by example, other citizens how this new democracy will work. More citizens will join later. Some of those new people might quickly grasp the skills of TDG governance. Others need training.
Soon there will be enough members to hold “competitive” elections. These elections will select the more capable people to lead the way forward. Some early builders will stay in TDG governance. Some will be happy that someone else has replaced them. Some will be disappointed but should be accepting of losing their position.
Eventually the local TDG will grow bigger. Big enough to set up a second tier.
Think of the tiers as an apprentice program. The first tier is at the neighborhood. To get elected at this tier requires earning the trust and respect of one’s neighbors. How many of today’s politicians have earned that attribute?
About five to 15 neighborhoods will be gathered into a district. Once a year, the neighborhood representatives will gather to elect the district representative. This district representative will have earned the trust and respect from the other neighborhood representatives.
Think about this rise to the second tier. First the citizen had to earn the trust of respect of his/her neighbors. Then that citizen works with other neighborhood representatives who have also earned the trust and respect of their neighbors. So people who have earned trust and respect are working alongside other people who have earned trust and respect. These people, with all the trust and respect they have, elect one of them to rise to the second tier. The district representative has passed a second test for trust and respect.
How many of today’s politicians can claim this kind of achievement? How does that two-tiered test compare to “winning the internal party election” as proof of competence?
When the third tier is added, that means another test of trust and respect. Third-tier representatives will stand out for their skills for TDG governance, would you not say?
Apprenticeship
As alluded earlier, the tiered nature of the TDG is an apprenticeship.
Being elected to the first tier allows neighborhood representative in the field of TDG governance. As an actual player, this representative will be in a better position to learn about TDG governance. If the right lessons are learned, that person should retain the position at the next annual election. If more right lessons are learned, that person might move to the second tier. Just like an apprentice mechanics goes through several stages of first-year apprentice, second-year apprentice, etc. Skills improve as one advances.
If the representative ever finds him- or herself unelected, that representative can take whatever skills he or she has learned in the TDG back to their family, community, and workplace. For example, if a mechanic spends three years as a neighborhood representative, he will enhance his skills in collaboration and consultation. With these skills, his mechanic shop will be more efficient and more customer oriented. And, by example, this mechanic will train his co-workers to be of a more collaborative nature. The training gained in the TDG goes beyond the TDG.
Conclusion
The “check engine” light of western democracy has been flashing for at least nine years. Maybe longer.
Published on Medium 2025
A New Democracy will be Built by Someone Like You
