Short Interview with Smashwords

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Finally, my book is not just available at Amazon. I also checked it in with Smashwords, one of the best-known distributors for ebooks. So you can expect it to be available in your ebook store shortly.

Here is a very short interview that I did for Smashwords:

Why do you write book about «Direct Democracy»?

In the last years, I increasingly wondered what will be left of democracy when the current worldwide trend continues. And I started to think about how we can reverse this trend and inject more democracy into our political systems.

After my research, I concluded that purely representative democracy is not going to solve this problem (and many other important problems).

I studied systems with a direct democratic corrective like the Swiss model and found them to be the better (yet still improvable) alternative.

In my research for potential improvements, I constantly stumbled over one aspect:

”But how can we achieve to integrate a strong direct democratic influence on politics when the incumbent players are not interested in this kind of political innovations? They have the power, so why should they give it up?”

Inspired by an article about a “Proxy Candidate”, who promised to vote as his constituents tell him to, I came up with my idea of a “Proxy Party”.

My books describe a realistic, directly implementable solution that doesn’t ask for permission but simply creates a people’s champion in parliament who we need to improve our situation. A champion acting effectively and efficiently whom we have a direct influence on, who leaves decisions to us, who comes with safeguards for information processes and democratic processes and transfers our decisions 1:1 to parliament. It will also come with safeguards that it stays this way.

What book of yours should I read first?

I would recommend reading my newest book “Achieving True Democracy“ first. This is a condensed and updated version of my book “Upgrading Democracy” and concentrates on the idea of the Proxy Party itself.

My older book “Upgrading Democracy” comes with an analysis of the weaknesses of the current system and more details on the implementation of this new breed of party.

The interview, my books, and other material can be also found at my Smashwords Author Page.