A Thin Democracy

In my most recent issue of UU World Frances Moore Lappé writes about American democracy: “[T]he unpleasant fact [is] that democracy and the now-dominant version of a market economy are actually based on opposing principles. Democracy depends on the wide dispersion of power so that each of us has a voice. But our peculiar version of the market is driven by a single rule, highest return to existing wealth, that does the opposite: It inexorably concentrates wealth and power, denying people a real voice…”
She then talks about the wealth gap. She says, “Such extreme concentration of wealth overwhelms elected governments and destroys open markets. Sixty-one lobbyists now walk the corridors of power in Washington, D. C., for every elected representative. I call this unworkable frame Thin Democracy.”

Lappé belives we can replace Thin Democracy with what she calls Living Democracy. I understand her analysis of the problem. I’m still studying her Living Democracy solution. You can read the article and the website of the Small Planet Institute.