Harvard Professor Lawrence Lessig makes the case that our democracy has become corrupt with money, leading to the inequality that means only 0.02% of the United States population actually determines who's in power. Lessig says that this fundamental breakdown of the democratic system must be fixed before we will ever be able to address major challenges like climate change, social security, and student debt. This is not the most important problem, it's just the first problem.
Lawrence Lessig is the Roy L. Furman Professor of Law and Leadership at Harvard Law School, former director of the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University, and founder of Rootstrikers, a network of activists leading the fight against government corruption. He has authored numerous books, including Republic, Lost: How Money Corrupts Our Congress—and a Plan to Stop It, Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace, Free Culture, and Remix.
A system dependent on the people alone wouldn't be much better. Know why? Because it would be the rule of majority. The majority is that part of the population which is the least educated is closer to the average IQ, belongs to lower class or lower/middle class. The elections would become popularity contests to appease to this majority. This is bias as well.
The corruption of democracy by money is a worldwide phenomenon. Here is Australia both major political parties represent specific interest groups not the people as a whole. Public funding for elections has been widely touted for many years, but always comes to naught. Its introduction would be welcome so that we start the game on a level playing field. It is a truism that money talks and the louder it talks the more politicians take notice. The people must take back what people with money have stolen from them over the decades, i.e. our right for true democratic representation where elected politicians carry out the will of the people not the will of the wealthy few who have corrupted it.
Curiosity is the single most important attribute with which humans are born. More than a simple desire to discover or know things, curiosity is a powerful tool, like a scalpel or a searchlight. Curiosity changes us. It is also a way to effect change, perhaps even on a global level.