Thread by @joshalerner

Sharp take by @JerusalemDemsas: When public participation is just ad hoc input by whoever shows up, government doesn’t work.
But if we limit our imagination to BAD participation or LESS participation, we’re missing something big: 🧵
theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…

There are better ways to practice democracy, being used around the world. To make government work, we need to do participation & representation better, not less.
As @landemore writes, it’s time to change how people can govern.
newyorker.com/news/the-futur…

Take soda. Drinking too much soda is killing people. So should we stop drinking beverages? No, we should drink healthier beverages. Same for democracy - it’s time to cut unhealthy participation and replace it with healthier participation. @PublicAgenda
publicagenda.org/healthier-demo…

As @mattleighninger writes in @GOVERNING, outdated laws and overly formal procedures for public meetings are the problem. There are better ways than three minutes at the microphone. governing.com/gov-institute/…

One of the only things more dysfunctional than public hearings is actually state government.
time.com/6109579/state-…

But if we look elsewhere, there are solutions. Around the world, cities are using randomly selected citizen assemblies & juries to solve tough issues. This solves the vocal minority problem & delivers better decisions. #DelibWave @OECDgov @ClaudiaChwalisz
oecd.org/gov/innovative…

New technology is making it easier for more people to participate in more meaningful ways, beyond the loudest voices. See @decidim_org @CitizensFNDN @citizenlabco and more in @PeoplePowrd’s ratings
peoplepowered.org/digital-partic…

And there are campaigns to grow these approaches in the US, like @PBProject’s #DemocracyBeyondElections democracybeyondelections.org

To fix our broken democracy we need to learn from movements around the world that are doing democracy better. See @PeoplePowrd @oidpoidp @participedia @delibdemjournal for examples.

Maybe @TheAtlantic could cover that.