Rekindling government accountability

Cyber Sovereignty proposes that the reason the surveillance state continues despite poll after poll showing a supermajority against it, is because governments are no longer accountable to the people.

Unaccountable representation

Representative democracy was designed for a world in which 95% of the population lived in towns of less than 2,500 people. It was a time in which those sent to Congress were truly accountable and known, not by their words only, but by their deeds at home. Today a single representative represents sometimes millions, and those millions have no real knowledge of the person they're sending on their behalf.

Money as the new currency

In a world of small towns, integrity is the only currency by which someone gets elected. Since in cities there is no true tribe or community outside of one's close family or friends, and because one needs the votes of hundreds of thousands of people, the best way to become known is to spend money.

In a highly unequal society, most of that money is in the hands of the rich and well-organized. And they distribute it, not for free, but with an expectation that their agenda will be fulfilled in return.

This has replaced the old currency, integrity, with the new currency, money.

A recent Princeton University study suggests those without money have absolutely no say, as opposed to those with money "…the average American appear(s) to have only a minuscule, near-zero, statistically non-significant impact upon public policy." - 2014 Princeton University study

In a world where the best currency is money, unorganized interests get crowded out nine out of ten times.

Cyber Sovereignty as a solution

Rather than trusting politicians to keep their word, in a world of Cyber Sovereignty, people vote with their digital feet, choosing the society which best fights for their rights, provides social services, and creates prosperity.

Cyber Sovereignty also creates accountability in national government by:

1. Imposing a new Charter of Rights on national governments that blocks the myriad of methods used by those governments to undermine people’s rights.

   1. These rights outright ban most government surveillance excesses.

2. Enabling digital societies to come to the rescue of their own citizens when their rights are violated.

   1. Digital societies are granted the right to sue national governments on behalf of their citizens where national governments violate the Charter.

3. Delegating the majority of invasive government power to digital societies and establishing national governments as a neutral/free zone.

   1. Digital societies gain power over that which doesn't absolutely require national or subnational organization through a tribunal process.

Progressive, tested change

Rather than proposing sudden, untested changes, Cyber Sovereignty only allows digital societies to take over that which they've competently proven to be better at than national governments.

People continually consent to the form of government they're subject to by choosing to deliberately remain a member of the digital society they choose creating real government accountability.

Declaration

To truly understand the concept of Cyber Sovereignty, readers should strongly consider continuing to the Declaration.