Decision-Making with Equal Democracy

Equal Democracy (ED) creates a new decision-making culture. The culture of selective, digital direct democracy is built on two known principles.

1. Division of Labor, the principle governing the free market.
The difference against the market is that in ED, everyone has the same responsibility and salary. They choose voluntarily a topic of interest, and then rank, debate, and vote on proposals. All will have equal payment for the same work.

2. The Wisdom of Crowds, or Collective Intelligence.
A state characterized by Openness, Peering, Sharing, and Global Action. A mixed group of independent people makes better decisions together than the best single expert in the long run.

Benefits of ED

• Increased efficiency
• Improved decision quality
• Lower administration costs
• Better freedom of choice
• Creates a global community
• Encourages local participation

A Positive and Responsible Culture

ED requires cooperation and coordination. The workload and responsibility are distributed evenly and fairly. Every citizen has equal responsibility. The yearly participatory budget vote is common to everyone. When this voting is over, it is celebrated. Besides budgeting, you also choose an individual issue. First, you decide which of the UN 17 Goals to concentrate on. Then you get suggestions on proposals within this UN Goal to choose, debate, and vote on.

By balancing workload, responsibility, and power, ED creates a sense of trust, respect, and belonging between peers. A culture of respect for the rules is established. The rules are based on fairness, efficiency, transparency, security, and celebrating the Global Citizen Council (GCC). The party will follow the common budget vote.

Mechanisms that prevent fraud and corruption

• All contributions in the ED App are strictly anonymous.
• It is impossible to prove how someone else has voted (but you can check your own voting).
• If you are forced to vote a certain way, you can change later.
• One is not allowed to vote in matters that affect one’s private finances (disqualification).
• Whistleblowers (who expose attempts at fraud and corruption) are rewarded and protected.
• The driving force is the will to create a better world.

The Division of Labor

The philosopher and National Economist Adam Smith (1723-1790) believed that the secret of business success is that people specialize. No one is an expert in everything, but everyone can be an expert in something. Peer Democracy is based on the same principle. It allows everyone to be a politician, but only for one issue a year, plus the budget. Self-limitation means that you choose to specialize in one issue yourself. We hope to improve decision-making by substituting power concentration with division of Labor.

General Vote on the Budget

Another part of Equal Democracy —the budget—is decided in common. The budget is the most important issue that balances the framework for the other issues. The budget is debated locally and set individually by adjusting the digital budget simulator. Background material to discuss comes from UN and World Bank economists. Everyone makes a budget proposal with the simulator. The median proposal is then adopted as next year’s budget. The average is not chosen because extreme suggestions would affect the result.

Emergent on the Global Level

Democracy is about making joint decisions. We want the decision-making to be just. Justice can mean fairness, that everyone has the same amount of power. It can also mean rewarding knowledge so that competence gives more influence. Both these ideas are united in Equal Democracy (ED).

The construction of the UN, with veto rights, makes it impossible to make the necessary decisions for the planet. We need laws that apply to everyone, everywhere. Sovereign nations must accept the fact that they only rule geographical regions in our shared world. ED should emerge where the need is most urgent, the world at large. This will not happen without a popular movement. Join!