Gary's views

Gary's weekly views

Each week an article by Gary has appeared in the Plympton Plymstock and Ivybridge News in South West Devon. The articles are published here

Harnessing Street Wisdom

It has been a mixed week for the onwards advance of technology in my professional life. After years of denigrating colleagues who tap away into bleeping hand held gadgets in an attempt to make a simple diary appointment, I have now joined them! The prospect of a database, diary, word processor and communications centre all in a computer that fits easily in my shirt pocket finally seduced me. I am now well on the road to gadgetry addiction, although eveytime I think I have caught up a new invention appears!

At the same time my laptop crashed over Christmas throwing my systems into temporary disarray. Some of you have had to wait longer than usual for replies as a result and I apologise for this.

Late last year Jan and I became (to our astonishment) avid fans of Fame Academy. Thinking about the success of TV programs like that and fiddling around with computers this week has prompted me to ponder again how technology could be better harnessed to improve the link between MPs and the electorate.

Of necessity, our democracy has always been representative. You elect me to go to Westminster on your behalf and (sadly) you are stuck with the decisions that I make on how to vote on all issues. Every 4 years or so you get the chance to throw me out.

Some of us are now asking whether inter-active technology gives an opportunity to make our democracy more direct - ie to hand real and immediate power back to the electorate in some way, using the miraculous power of the Internet.
Some may wonder whether this would be a good thing. Surely big decisions should be left to "wise" people who know more than we do! Of course, that was an argument deployed years ago against widening the electoral franchise to everyone. The recent poll on BBC 4 asking listeners to vote for a new law, ending up with the suggestion that householders should have more power to defend their own homes, is a classic example of how many feel that their voice is not being heard.

Would it be dangerous to give people more power? I think not. I like to chat to people wherever I go, and with some notable exceptions, I am constantly impressed by the deep resevoir of knowledge and ideas out there..
Maybe we must seek new ways to harness all of this street wisdom.

What do you thnk? Mail@garystreeter.co.uk

posted by Nigel on Friday, January 16, 2004