Democracy: What Representation is Actually Possible?

Sometimes, political representation becomes so open ended and confusing, that the process gradually starts to break down. In terms of resource potential, too few individuals know what is actually possible or achievable in their own environments. What's more, those who do know what is at stake, tend to dominate the conversation - or at least the results. How can economic progress be expected to continue, when so many among the electorate remain in the position of passive consumers?

It's important for the public to gain a better understanding, regarding numerous resource options which are available, versus some very real unrecognized limitations. While representative democracy and centralization still work reasonably well for traditional supply side factors (commodities, manufacture), decentralization and direct democracy are desperately needed, for services of all kinds.

Otherwise, it will be difficult for knowledge use to remain a substantial part of the marketplace in the future. Much human potential remains untapped, because of the inadequate methods by which value continues to be derived. In a recent article for Project Syndicate, Dani Rodrik looks at the fact that even though "the world has never been more democratic", today's democratic governments do not perform well. He says,

In the advanced countries, dissatisfaction with government stems from its inability to deliver effective economic policies for growth and inclusion. 

One problem is a growing divergence in lifestyle options, and the fact they can't be easily reconciled by representation which was designed for simpler realities. Not only is this true of needed variance in environment, but in service pattern design which needs to take multiple income levels into consideration.

Small wonder that a libertarian - for instance - who might normally support open borders, would hesitate, given the attempts of current welfare states to bridge income gaps. When only a fraction of time use is utilized with real valuation in aggregate, extreme competition between all concerned, becomes the norm. Dani Rodrik continues:

The attack on the nation-state comes from above and below. Economic globalization has blunted the instruments of national economic policy and weakened the traditional mechanisms of transfers and redistribution that strengthened social inclusion.

But why has this been the case? Globalization provided the means for society to reach for desirable choices in time utilization. And yet, many of those options were not widely recognized. As a result, people relied on the fruits of production to build service sectors, which became unwieldy in their dependence on indirect formation and skewed incentives. Had service formations not proceeded in this manner, there's a good chance that globalization would not be seen today, as a deterrent to economic stability.

Direct democracy is still possible in terms of service formation, if governments are willing to take a chance on the skills sets and natural abilities of their own citizens. Of course, that would mean "just say no" to a lot of special interests. Just the same, the demands of too many services agendas have already led to inefficient operations and rising budgets. They have also caused governments and central bankers to take austerity measures, which now blunt the growth potential of entire natons.

To be sure, globalization and democracy are not necessarily in danger of becoming "extinct", if knowledge use systems and widespread economic access isn't possible. But chances are - without more direct knowledge use formations - growth could remain subdued, and the value of education would also remain in question. Education is not just about being an informed citizen: education needs to be about being able to contribute and reciprocate in kind. It's time to shake things up, so that renewed growth and economic progress still have a chance.

Update: speaking of present day inadequate services representation - consider a correlation of zero, between ongoing research and actual health related conditions