Giving Compass' Take:

· Writing for YES! Magazine, David Korten explains that the introduction of the HR1 bill has the potential to transform the current plutocracy in America to the democracy most Americans want. 

· What is the HR1 bill? Will it become a law? How has plutocracy divided America? 

· Read and learn more about the rise of plutocracy and how we can re-imagine politics, governance and law.

Economic power is—and always has been—the foundation of political power. Those who control the peoples’ means of living rule.

In a democracy, however, each person must have a voice in the control and management of the means of their living. That requires more than a vote expressing a preference for which establishment-vetted candidatewill be in power for the next few years.

My previous column, “Confronting the Great American Myth,” distinguished true democracy from government by the wealthy, a plutocracy. Contrary to popular belief, the U.S. Constitution was written by representatives of the new nation’s wealthy class to keep people like themselves in power.

On Jan. 4, the newly elected Democratic majority in the U.S. House of Representatives introduced HR1, the For the People Act of 2019. Its aim is to make voting easier, reduce the influence of big money, and curtail gerrymandering. Even before it was introduced, the champions of having rich people rule were falsely characterizing it as an attack on the freedom of speech of ordinary Americans.

Read the full article about democracy in America by David Korten at YES! Magazine.