“No dictator, no invader, can hold an imprisoned population by force of arms forever. There is no greater power in the universe than the need for freedom. Against that power, governments and tyrants and armies cannot stand.”
J. Michael Straczynski
In the previous chapter, I discussed a possible means to replace western democracy with a TDG. This chapter will discuss the transition of an oligarchy to a TDG.
For this chapter, I will define oligarchy as a broad spectrum which includes:monarchies, dictatorships, one-party states, and ostensible democracies where the governing party rigs the elections. Or simpler put, “oligarchy,” for the purpose of this chapter, is any system that is not western democracy. A mature western democracy is one with political leaders who graciously retire when the citizenry has expressed their collective will for another political party.
In many aspects, replacing an oligarchy with a TDG could be much easier than replacing a western democracy. For example, oligarchies usually do not have the arrogance that their system of governance is irreplaceable. And oligarchies have the power to start building the TDG without their citizenry's approval. The big question is why an oligarchy would willingly hand over responsibility of governance to its citizens.
I can see two reasons that may appeal to some oligarchies. First, oligarchies have always needed some formal or informal mechanisms to placate their population. Allowing citizens to feel that they are participating in building a new system of governance that will take several decades to build should give the citizenry some degree of satisfaction, as well as inform the oligarchy where the “pressure points” are in managing its society. Building the TDG may actually let the oligarchy reign longer than it normally would.
Second, history has not been kind to oligarchies of the last century. If any oligarchy just runs their country for several decades before its eventual fall, very likely history will not look favorably on these rulers. However if the oligarchy—in the several decades of reign it traditionally has—actually builds the TDG that eventually forms the government to replace the oligarchy, history will judge those oligarchy rulers more favorably.
Will the world's oligarchies be moved to start building a TDG? Many won't. But the world needs only one to two oligarchies to show this can be done. Such rulers should be able get their TDGs working well before any western democracy can. What a place in history!
TDG Principles in an Oligarchy
The building of the TDG under an oligarchy will have the same four salient features as building the TDG under western democracy:
I believe I have acquired a reasonable idea of how western democracies work, and this knowledge has allowed me to speculate on a somewhat thorough process for transitioning from western democracy to the TDG. I have to admit, however, that I don't understand fully how oligarchies keep civil order (force and fear do not explain everything). And I suspect the societal glue that keeps order varies considerably from one oligarchy to another.
Therefore my suggestions are only a starting point for any oligarchy wishing to go through the TDG process. I suspect each oligarchy is going to have to invent some transitional processes specifically for its own TDG evolution.
Unlike building the TDG in western democracies, the oligarchy will write the constitutions for the TDG. There are two reasons for this direct involvement. First, the oligarchy will need a sense of control by writing the rules. It might curtail some freedoms of the early TDG that western TDGs will take for granted. If the early TDG is given boundaries about its political activities, these boundaries should be well communicated. Second, the citizenry in an oligarchy may not have the skills or courage to amend their own constitutions and conduct mergers. If an oligarchy can see much needed changes for the evolving TDG, it can implement them quickly.
The Experiment
To start building the TDG, the oligarchy should pick a small area of the country, maybe about 20,000 citizens. Leave the rest of the country alone for a few more years.
There are several reasons for starting small. First, this will be a time of experimentation. Building and maintaining neighborhood membership lists, conducting the elections, and teaching citizens about the qualities of people worthy of casting their votes towards are all lessons that need to be learned by trial and error, analysis, and making changes. A second set of lessons that also need to be learned is about how the elected representatives are to work together; in particular, using the consultative process rather than forcing their own opinions onto others who have less power and influence.When these lessons are learned in a small locality, they can be applied to the other parts of the country.
Another good reason for starting small is for building the advisory board in the future. The citizens who play an important part in the initial TDG area(s) have some great experience behind them. The oligarchy can appoint these people as advisors to the new areas as the TDG is expanded.
To build the TDG in an oligarchy, all adult citizens should be allowed to vote in the neighborhood elections. Likewise all citizens are eligible for election. There should be no distinction between gender, age, education, race, religion, ethnicity, occupation, or party affiliation. Giving one group a preferable status in the early TDG will not build the credibility needed to make the TDG work in the long term.
The Structure
I recommend that these initial areas of about 20,000 people be divided into about 100 neighborhoods. Each neighborhood will elect one neighborhood representative.
About 10 to 15 neighborhoods should be grouped together to form a district. The neighborhood representatives will elect, from amongst themselves, a district representative. This, in essence, creates a two-tier TDG.
This group of seven to 10 district representatives will form the TDG governing body for the 20,000 people.
To give this evolving TDG some credibility, the district representatives need some tasks to do. I recommend that they be given some funds to spend on something in their district. The stipulation is that the district representatives must be united in their decision. If the decision is not unanimous, the funds are not provided. Hopefully, the representatives do something wise and beneficial with this resource, such as supplies for local schools or hospitals. They could also allocate funds down the tier to the neighborhood councils to address local needs. Or maybe the district council will be foolish or corrupt with their decision. Whatever they decide, the oligarchy should grant them the money under the condition of a unanimous vote.
If the decision is contrary to the desires of the oligarchy or the 20,000 citizens, let education, not application of power, be the force that leads the people to better decisions in the future. For example, if the district representatives decide to split the money amongst themselves, let this happen. The oligarchy, through its appointed advisory board members, should tell the citizens about the decision of their elected representatives and ask them to think more wisely in the next set of elections. The allocating and spending of resources is an excellent forum for the citizens to truly understand the nature of the TDG.
Branching Out, Then Up
As this initial area of 20,000 matures, the oligarchy should open up new areas to the TDG process, applying the lessons that have already been learned. Bringing these new areas up to a mature level should not take as long. Eventually the entire country should be covered with a two-tiered system of local governance—in 20,000-citizen units.
Obviously, the next step will be building the third tier, amalgamating several districts into one “big area,” and having these district representatives elect their representatives to this tier. And obviously, this new level should be given some additional responsibilities—and perhaps giving it some higher control of certain government operations is in order.
The oligarchy could ask the higher elected tiers for some advice. For this advice to be seriously considered, the qualification of a unanimous decision within the elected tier still applies. While the oligarchy is not obligated to take this advice, it should do so some of the time to let the citizenry know it takes building the TDG seriously, and is preparing for the eventual time for when the oligarchy will retire.
The TDG Transition
As the TDG grows and matures, the oligarchy should grant it more and more decision-making capacity within government. There will be a time when it becomes obvious that the TDG is ready for actual governance—and the oligarchy should not resist this social change.
Instead it should enter negotiations with the TDG for a transfer of power. Part of this negotiation is amnesty for whatever bad things the oligarchy felt it had to do to maintain social order while building the TDG. Many readers won't like this last statement, but we should be looking to the future: the TDG peacefully replacing the oligarchy. Besides, in the latter years of this social change, there will be fewer bad things emanating from the oligarchy as it interacts more with the TDG, which means less forceful ways to maintain power because citizens are more involved with the decision-making process.
A wise oligarchy will see that several decades are needed to build the TDG. As it is engineering the TDG construction, I am sure that it can plan for its own departure in a peaceful manner. What a place in history to accomplish something like this!
