Thursday, January 1, 2009

Welcome to the California Democracy Blog

As I write this the State of California is estimated to comprise nearly 37 million persons. The first census of the United States of America, taken in 1790, showed the population was under 4 million persons.

In theory a democracy is rule of the people. What does it mean to say that 37 million Californians rule themselves? Do we rule ourselves?

In reality the government of California (including the federal governance component) is in trouble. This goes beyond the current budget crisis, the economic problems of 2008, and the problems that typically confront even the best of governments.

The California Democracy Blog will focus on questions about the democratic governance of California. How democratic is our republican form of government? Is the current state of misgovernment caused by too much democracy or too little? What structural changes could be made to improve the government of California?

An earlier, discontinued version of this blog was started by the organization California Center for Community Democracy, with me (William Meyers) as Web master. I expect to write the vast majority of entries, but may also post writings by other commentators. Of course you are welcome to add your comments to the posts at the site.

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