Arguments for other parties to join

We had to try to get all parties to join the democracy experiment to work as intended, but how would it go? If they just got the arguments presented, the representatives should realize the value of cooperating, we thought. Therefore, we wrote personal letters to everyone in the City Court. We asked them to take part in the experiment for four reasons: For the sake of the Voters’, for your Own sake, for your Party’s sake and especially for the sake of Democracy.

For Voters’ sake
We vote for parties, but even for candidates in Sweden. If the voters will know whom to vote for, so they have to compare politicians’ views with each other. It cannot be wrong to make the comparison easier by debating with each other online. Because your decisions affect the voters, they should also have a right to know why you take your decisions. We need a public debate not only in the election campaign but in the context of all political issues.

For your Own sake
If you are not really familiar with all the issues so you can quickly build up a picture by reading other people’s contributions to the debate. It is instructive to read the arguments instead of listening to them. The arguments are clearly in writing, which means that bad arguments are easier to analyze and thus see through. This will rise the debate quality. There will be more time to think over the decisions. Imagine a council meeting in written form on the internet. It lasts for a week and you can visit it when you have time. You are not left alone with big bunches of paperwork. We help each other to find the relevant and reliable arguments.

For the sake of your Party

Your party has good reasons to win political sympathies. Parties often talks about "reaching the voters", and the experiment is a chance for your party to win respect and confidence of the public.  The voters will vote tactically. If they want to influence policy as much as possible, they vote for "their" party in the election and joins the experiment to vote the same way there. Then they can affects both the mandatory distribution and the independent mandate in the "right direction".

For the sake of Democracy
In all experiments the outcome is uncertain. It may seem dangerous to experiment with democracy, but the purpose is to enhance democracy and not to damage it. An experiment designed to increase interest in policy – how can it be wrong? We are moving towards ever lower voter turnout and less political involvement among young people. That is a dangerous development.

One concern is that the democracy experiment may create a gap between people and elected representatives. To prevent this, you should join and debate! Then the experiment may create new trust between you and your voters instead. If you join the experiment, you also receive a good insight into how it works. You become aware of any deficiencies and can come up with a devastating critique. If the experiment works poorly, so it will close. Then at least we have tried!