In 2008, I wrote the third edition of my alternative democracy — Tiered Democratic Governance (TDG). I put up a website (147 webpages) to give a free read of my work. I spent some time and money promoting this website.
I Tried to Save the USA in 2009
After a year, not much happened. I parked the TDG idea and worked on other inventions in the next eight years.
In 2017, I thought the election of Donald Trump as President of the USA would convince people that the TDG was worthy of a serious investigation. A mature democracy should have never elevated this kind of person to high office, right?
So I blew the dust off my TDG project. I started working three or four internet forums, linking back to my website. My posts and comments mostly garnered comments from right-wing trolls believing the TDG was a communist plot or from left-wing trolls believing the TDG was a capitalist plot. It was a waste of time — and not much fun.
Somehow, I found the forum called “Writerbeat” (WB). The audience was receptive to discussing the TDG. I spent about 18 months on WB, which has been my best internet community even though the TDG did not find its necessary early workers. There was some magic working as we exchanged our differing perspectives of how the world is and should be. We were not united in thought, but we were mostly civil. It was fun and educational.
But WB had a monetization problem. The owner folded the site. I gravitated to four G+ groups, but I was mostly ignored. When G+ folded, I found Medium. That was in 2019. The USA was in the last two years of the first Trump presidency. Medium sure had a lot of critics for this president.
As I worked my TDG comments and articles into Medium, I was able to generate some interest for my new democracy idea. I was able to get Medium contributors to read my TDG book online. I even sold a few e-books. But more importantly, I got some interesting comments and criticisms.
But when Joe Biden won the 2020 election, this commentary more or less stopped coming my way. It seemed the USA had been saved, and there was no need to consider any alternative democracy anymore. Since then, I have been effectively a bottom writer on Medium. Not even the more robust second Trump presidency is helping me out. It seems today’s “rightful” political energy is dedicated to somehow sending Trump and the Republicans packing. Anything would be better than that crew.
Anyways, this article is about the constructive criticism I received from Writerbeat & Medium, from 2017 to 2020.
1) Dave, you are not famous
You say, “Only famous people get to have influence. So your ideas will go nowhere.”
I say, “Unfortunately, this is true. But there is no famous person advocating for replacing western democracy with a better democracy. Not even the political scientists.”
The TDG could use a more accomplished and credible spokesperson to further its cause. But it is stuck with me.
2) Dave, we don’t have the writing skills to write your constitution
You say, “Constitutional writing is a skill very few people have. Average people, even with good writing skills, should never do this work.”
I say, “Is Medium not a forum for writers? I have seldom run into a bad writer on Medium. So I say that nearly everyone on Medium has the skills to find the words for ideas formed in local TDG constitutional discussions.”
This link gives you an example of a local TDG constitution. I know you can write something similar. I think most of you will enjoy being the “writer” of this document. Your work will shape the world a generation from now.
3) Dave, we don’t have the time for your new democracy
You say, “You have great ideas, but I have no time for this project. I am busy with life.”
I say, “It will take you three hours to read my book and see how all the pieces of the TDG fit together. You will spend at least three hours this week on your favorite internet forum.”
If building a new democracy is that important to you, you will find the time. Otherwise, expect things to continue the same way as they have.
Once you get over this obstacle, the TDG will consume only 10 hours a month. If a new democracy is that important to you, you will find the time.
4) Dave, I don’t like my neighbors
You say, “I have formed my community outside my neighborhood. I like my people, but my neighbors suck.”
I say, “That is exactly the problem.”
If we don’t consciously and deliberately engage with our neighbors, then we will not advance to make the TDG work. Our neighbors will help us move out of our echo chamber. Spend some time chatting with them. Listen to their stories. Understand where they are today has a history behind it. You do not need to be best friends with your neighbors. Be a little chatty. See where it goes.
For sure, you won’t like some neighbors and they won’t like you. You probably should keep these interactions on the low side. But by being chatty, you will find a few likeable neighbors that you didn’t know before. Some of them might be interested in taking the TDG journey with you.
And you can still keep your other communities.
5) Dave, democracy requires a majority to move in any direction
You say, “I will never get 50%+1 of my neighbors to agree with building the TDG.”
I say, “Start with 1%. The rest will come later.”
I know of no social/political movement that started with 50%+1. For sure, at least 95% of your neighborhood will either not know this local TDG is happening or won’t care. They can join later.
6) Dave, society has been about an elite governing us
You say, “There has always been an elite governing us. There is no possible system where we — the people — can truly govern ourselves.”
I say, “Then why not just hand the keys to power to that elite and allow them make their laws and name their own successor? Why should we go through all this hassle of elections, law building, law enforcing, courts, protesting, and participating in a game that is already fixed against us?”
We have already done many democratic things to prevent the elite from fully taking over. The TDG is taking this effect to a higher level.
The change from western democracy to the TDG will be just as great as the change from feudalism to western democracy.
7) Dave, the TDG is a friendly organization with trivial issues. Surely it cannot handle big issues.
You say, “It is easy for people to get along when the organization is small. But when the TDG gets bigger, it will fall into the trap of becoming a top-down organization.
I say, “So true. We must be aware of this natural outcome.”
As the early TDG builders are writing their first local TDG constitution, they are acquiring some basic TDG skills. They are learning how to work together as they write the 50 or so constitutional clauses. More importantly, they will realize that any highly charged opinion is not that important. Yes, each opinion must be expressed for each opinion contains at least a few kernels of truth. We need those kernels to make the better decisions.
As the TDG grows, it will be facing bigger challenges. But it will have the skills in place to manage those challenges. Free discussion will be normal. Many decisions will be made by consensus. Some decisions will be made by consent. A few will be by majority vote. The minority will yield to the majority. All decisions will be tried out and adjusted if needed. The TDG representatives and members will learn to trust the new culture, not their own positions.
The TDG will advance through four stages — Early TDG, Middle TDG, Maturing TDG, and TDG-in-waiting. With each stage, the TDG will enhance its skills in TDG governance. Even the more difficult issues will not divide the TDG and become a vehicle for power gathering.
In essence, the writing of the first constitution is the first lesson for learning how to get along — while making decisions. The early TDG builders will be consciously and deliberately building a new culture.
8) Dave, humanity cannot rise to your calling
You say, “Your TDG requires humans to work together. Humans have been climbing over each other for power for centuries. A few will be at the top. Most will be at the bottom. We can’t stop our human nature.”
I say, “You are right. If we bring in our current human condition into the TDG, the TDG will fail.”
To overcome this state, we need to pull ourselves away from the “life-and-death” scenarios today’s politics proffers for us. So, in Chapter 6, I talk about building the TDG. The first task is building a local TDG constitution, which requires about 50 clauses for this local TDG to hold its first election. Four to 10 neighbors will be finding the words for this document.
None of these clauses are life or death. So they can be easily discussed freely. Neighbors discuss alternatives, pros, and cons. Such free discussion will find many of the clauses being designed by consensus. Some clauses will be decided by consent, which means those in disagreement willingly letting the disputed clause to be tried out. Then there is majority vote. In either case, relationships will not be torn apart because some people think they can always predict the future.
And if a clause proves to not work well, it will be amended later. In other words, TDG builders will learn how to let go of their hard opinions.
And the world already has people with open minds to make the TDG work. They have not found each other yet. The TDG can bring them together.
9) Dave, this consultation thing you keep talking about will never work
You say, “Democracy is about the more ambitious people in society championing their own utopia. The winner gets to inflict their version on the rest of us. We only get to vote.”
I say, “So how is that working for you?”
Consultation is a skill we must enhance in our lives. The trouble is that most of us do not know the difference between power decision making, democratic decision making, and consultative decision making. I have a workshop that explains these three styles.
When you see the difference between these styles, you will recognize elements of consultation already in your life. We just need to enhance it.
10) Dave, eventually the power-gatherers will infiltrate the TDG
You say, “They will bring their ways and wreck the TDG.”
I say, “By the time these people are interested in joining the TDG, the culture in the TDG will be firmly in place.”
The disrupters may try to disrupt, but they will be sidelined. The new skills and structure in TDG governance will manage the disruption. Very few disruptors and strong opinions will be voted into the second tier.
And some disruptors might appreciate the TDG ways — and abandon their negative attitudes. They will be led by example.
11) Dave, such a big change can only come from a violent revolution
You say, “We must go through a period of total collapse to implement a new system like the TDG. So there is no point in building a new democracy.”
I say, “Do you really think the victorious revolutionaries will allow something like the TDG to govern us.”
Remember, the TDG has annual elections. Last year’s representatives might not be next year’s representatives. The revolutionaries won’t like that.
No, the better way is to build the TDG outside the current system. If the collapse does occur, there is something better to replace the current system.
Or maybe when the people see the TDG working so well, we will peacefully force the current system to step aside. I outline this process in Chapter 6.
12) Dave, the TDG could fail
You say, “if it fails, then all the effort to build the TDG is lost. So it is better to not even start.”
I say, “Many things in life fail. How many businesses are successful? How many careers are successful? How many athletes and entertainers, with great talent and effort, reach the top of their field? How many writers on Medium become the next Hemingway? The odds that any entrant in any of the many competitive endeavors of life becoming successful have always been small.
Yet many of us still try.”
Why should the TDG be free of failure?
I expect some local TDGs will fail. They will fail because the early builders did not find the right culture to make the TDG work. When such a TDG fails, a new TDG can rise in its place. There will be important lessons learned from the failures.
Like the new American republic of the early 1800s, the TDG will work because its early builders will make it work.
But if we let fear of failure be our reason not to start, the TDG won’t be built. And that is an accurate prediction.
13) Dave, we have real problems to solve
You say, “If we spend time on your TDG, we won’t be solving those problems.”
I say, “We are putting out fires that should have never been started.”
Until we address the problems of why those fires are starting, we will continue to put out fires.
Early TDG builders will be long-term thinkers, thinking beyond the current milieu of crisis-after- crisis-after-crisis. They can focus on the TDG.
There will be enough people remaining to put out the fires — as best they can.
14) Dave, 20 years is too long
You say, “There’s no point in building a system for a decade or two later.”
I say, “Unfortunately, there is no free lunch. The TDG needs this time to develop the new skills and attitudes for TDG governance.”
There is a popular saying: “The best time to plant a forest was 20 years ago. The second-best time to plant a forest is now.” The same goes for the TDG.
15) Dave, the political elite will not allow the TDG to be built
You say, “THEY will muster up many forces to thwart this movement. So there is no sense building it.”
I say, “And that THEY is the best reason why you should build the TDG.”
Conclusion
Since 2020, I have seldom had these kinds of discussions. Some smart people on Medium and Mastodon (and LinkedIn and Substack) believe that the Democratic Party will, with the right pressure, reform itself. Other smart people believe a period of oligarchy is inevitable.
But the truth is that a new political future has been in the people’s hands for some time.
And only 1% of us need to start building it. Many will join later because of our example.
For only 10 hours a month!
What is the alternative?
Really?
Published on Medium 2025
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