What We Need is a "Transparency Movement"

The #1 issue we face today is the corruption of the systems that govern our lives. Transparency is kryptonite to corruption. So let's use forced transparency to hold our representatives accountable.

The biggest problem in the world today is that the systems that govern over our lives have become corrupted. Fixing the corrupted system should be line item #1. It should rank above all things - because nothing else matters.

We say this often: If our system is corrupted, that’s like the equivalent of having a computer that has a corrupted motherboard. All of our other problems are just programs that run on the computer. If the computer itself is no good, then arguing about what programs are best to run on it is a pointless exercise. We need to fix the system first. As long as we allow the systems that govern our lives to be corrupted we will never be able to navigate our way to the best society possible - and that should be the goal.

Fixing the corrupted system should be something all of us want - all sides of the political spectrum. No matter who you vote for or what your views are, we should all want the systems that govern over our lives to be bullet proof to outside forces such as special interest groups or regulatory capture. (Unless of course you are part of the corruption and benefitting somehow from it). So by focusing on this one line item - together - it can be a great way to smoke out the people who are trying to corrupt the system. We will see clearly who is a friend of the people and who isn’t. Picture the mask reveal at the end of every Scooby Doo episode; it would be that obvious who was corrupted - because an honest politician (or academic, or leader of any kind) should be all about making the system better. Only a crook wouldn’t want that.

So let’s propose that we set aside the culture wars and hot button topics for long enough to work together on this one thing - ONE THING - and once it is fixed we can see just how much having a system that is trustworthy, transparent, accountable and actually responsive to representative democracy governing over us really changes how we grow as a society.

To us it is as simple as this: we need a movement. Call it a Transparency Movement, call it whatever you want, but we need groups of people across all spectrums of humanity thinking about this problem and all working together on it. We need the independent journalists of YouTube and Substack and the Podcast Universe to be discussing our goals, and spreading the word to all the other people out there who want a better society. We need groups of tech thinkers working on and developing (open sourced? Blockchain?) software that is constantly evolving and testing itself against corruption. We need people spreading the word and adding new ideas to how we can make this work as effectively as possible.

This transparency movement isn’t that hard to accomplish, but it’s not gonna happen without intent, and it’s not gonna happen without a large group of people working together - people in all fields - marketing, technology, communications and more participating with clear goals in mind and volunteering their time and expertise.

The Plan.

First we need a new agreement. A new code to live by. One that we work on together, and one whose sole purpose is to fix the corruption in the systems that govern our lives. This would not replace any existing system but rather just make the ones we already have very difficult to corrupt, and with huge consequences where we actually hold accountable those who attempt to corrupt it.

Next, we need new technologies designed specifically to help us participate in government, hold politicians accountable, and make government as transparent as possible. We can start using these technologies on some small elections first - like mayoral races - and beta test the software and upgrade changes there then watch the idea spread as it succeeds (which it will).

Skeptics of our current system often fear technology because it has been used by the government against the people. And they have a point. Entities like big tech corporations, the NSA, etc., are constantly monitoring our lives. And we have all seen the terrifying social credit score system in China. But why can’t we use the same technology back on the politicians? Give them a live read of their own “political credit scores” with how we feel about their honesty, transparency and representation? We have not even begun to explore the ways where technology could be used for making a more accountable government.

In other words, we - as voters - will use technology on the government officials in the same way the government uses the NSA on its own people. This technology will be created by the people (again…. open source? blockchain?) and be ever evolving to prevent corruption and regain control of the systems that govern our lives. The politicians will all happily volunteer to use the new technology because if they refuse to we won’t vote for them, ever again - regardless of political affiliation. Within 6 years every single corrupt politician could be replaced with a new kind of politician - a transparent one. One that is truly representing the people.

But first we would need an agreement. It doesn’t have to be this exact one, but after discussing this with other strategic directors we thought this seemed like a good place to start:

THE AGREEMENT:

1) We agree to fix the system as line item #1 above all other issues.

2) We agree to remove money from politics. We will never vote for any politician regardless of party if they violate this rule after agreeing to it. This includes conflicts of interests, and backdoor or dark money deals with relatives or family members etc etc. All of it will be monitored with our new technology, and we will directly hold politicians accountable with zero tolerance.

3) We agree to never vote for any politician who refuses to use our new technology up to the standards we set for them (and those standards will constantly evolve). Representatives agree to use our new technology that will create transparency in government. Our technology will also be constantly evolving to prevent corruption and should be consistently scrutinized and tested by the people. We will also make technology that connects voters and politicians over individual issues and ideas.

Possibilities:
Imagine if every politician video recorded every meeting they had and posted it online in real time. Failure to do so - even once -and they would be voted out for life, or immediately recalled if possible. Real accountability. Or, Imagine if all governmental expenses, spending, contracts, and accounting was posted online for all of us to see in real time (It’s our money isn’t it?). Imagine if all the bills in Congress and the Senate were posted online in full text before they were voted on. Imagine a blockchain social media platform for governing - with real time polling and and upvoting that gave immediate feedback and accountability to our representatives - one that was run by the people and government had no control over. Imagine if we used DAOs (decentralized autonomous organizations) as a fair way to handle contracts and bids with taxpayer money to prevent favoritism and cronyism. The technology - done right - could do for politicians what body cams did for policing - but even better. The possibilities are endless, and we have barely begun to scratch the surface. (We will layout some of the awesome tech ideas for governing in a future Substack here).

4) We agree to only vote for politicians who make fixing the actual system the focal point of their platforms. They must be advocates for improving the system and have tangible plans on how to eliminate corruption from the government and surrounding systems.

5) We agree to work towards helping marginalized communities gain access to the new technologies so everyone can participate in government.

6) We agree to work to create more decentralization in governmental systems (Explore this idea more here).

7) We agree to work towards ending insider trading by politicians.

8) We agree to hold politicians accountable and punish people if they attempt to corrupt any of our governmental systems.

9) We start to look at the role of the politician as once again a service and a sacrifice - much like the military. A duty - not to government, but to the people.

Anyone who serves in office and adheres to the agreement should be honored and praised. After agreeing to our New Agreement it will put a spotlight on them - a level of transparency that will require vulnerability and exposure. Any little blemish is going to be magnified. It should be commendable for people to do this, and we should be understanding of their vulnerability. Representing the people will once again truly be an honorable thing.

And that’s it. #TransparencyMovement

A recap:

Step one - form an agreement between all people and our representatives, and we all take a new oath to uphold the agreement. The purpose of the agreement is simply to end corruption in the systems that govern our lives and rebuild trust in them.

Step two - create new and evolving technologies - controlled by the people (government has no say or control of) - that are tools needed to prevent corruption and make politicians accountable and responsive to their constituents.

Step three - Force all representatives to use the new technology systems with the unified oath of not voting for them, recalling them, and giving them zero tolerance if they fail to comply. In other words, we only vote for representatives who agree to our new agreement and who also agree to use our new technologies up to the standards we set. We collectively blacklist any politician who rejects these terms, and we collectively honor those who serve them well.

Step four: The people regain control of the systems, fix them, and watch how much better everything runs when the whole thing isn’t corrupted.

As Naval Ravikant likes to say: “A sign of a good system is that you should be able to turn it over to your enemies - have them purposely try and break it - and it should still run perfectly.” Well, the systems that govern our lives are being run by people who do not have our best interests in mind, and they are no longer running perfectly. So we need to adapt the system against the ways it is being gamed.

Now …what’s the next step? Spread the word!

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NOTE: this was a redraft of this piece I wrote back in March, with a new title to see if it could gain more traction. Please help spread the word and use the hashtag #TransparencyMovement to connect us.

As always the entire purpose of this is to connect with other solutions-minded people like yourself! For 4 billion years on this planet there were only single-celled organisms. Then one day they somehow learned to work together and make complex multi-celled creatures like you and me. Right now we are like those single-celled organisms. Our next evolution is finding how to work together, better.

If you enjoyed this topic we explore it in several other articles we wrote here, here, and here.

Thanks for problem solving with us, you beautiful, rational creature.

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