Introduction
E-Government: The Democratic System of the Future
The world needs democracy. From the communal meeting of minds that led to the founding document of our great nation to the rise of Rome, democracy has proven itself to be the most effective system of governance yet devised to maintain peace and order within a body of people. However, the major stumbling block to allowing democracy to work on a larger scale than a town meeting has always been two-fold: access to the information by a concerned and politically active public, and the age-old question that plagues every governmental system yet known to man – who polices the police?
We’d like to answer that question with a modern perspective; a new twist on an old idea that is gaining support in many circles as the eventual future system of governance among democratic nations: that of e-Democracy, or an e-Government – a government that is run via the World Wide Web, with referendums initiated and voted upon by regular citizens. We at PolitiVote believe that e-Governance will eventually be possible. We believe that citizens will be able to maintain a universally accessible system free of bureaucratic interference; a system of pure democracy, where every single person will be able to have one voice in the passing of laws and statutes for the benefit of all.
The possibilities of such a system are exciting, but early efforts to implement these systems have encountered some unique challenges, challenges that have impeded their widespread adoption. It has become clear that before an e-Governance system can be fully implemented, each of these issues will need to be addressed. In the following article, we at PolitiVote will examine each of the potential risks in an e-Governance system and identify potential ways to minimize or eliminate these risks to “ensure liberty and justice for all.” We invite your feedback on this story.
Tags: democracy, eDemocracy, eGovernment, free democracy