America’s Next 250 Years?

Much was written for America’s 250th birthday. But some points bear viewing from a new angle.

First, the U.S. was the first country that established a secular government, not tied to any religion or supernatural-adjacent authority. Past monarchs claimed their power derived from a sky god.

The Founders were a product of the Enlightenment. They saw the power of scientific observation, experimentation, and research. They wanted to apply these principles to governance. Try something, and if it doesn’t work try something else.

Second, the U.S. established a government of self-rule by the people. The Declaration of Independence declared: “Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” A new and radical idea at the time.

Third, the U.S. established its government around a written Constitution. One that could be updated by people. Another new and radical idea.

Fourth, being an American was not about origin. It was about accepting a set of ideals and principles embodied in the Constitution and subject to updates.

Did the U.S. live up to these ideals? Clearly not for the millions of Black Americans who were enslaved. And various religious factions regularly try to claim that their sky god text is the only one true basis of being American. But there has been progress toward “a more perfect union” that does live up to our ideals.

While the U.S. was a pioneer, we have been left behind by countries with newer constitutions. The U.S. Constitution is fiendishly difficult to update. It mostly established negative rights. Freedom from rather than freedom to. Other countries established affirmative rights: housing, healthcare, employment, and education.

But maybe the U.S. could again be a pioneer. I have written previous articles revealing flaws in democracy. Our system fails two distinct tests: It fails to reflect the will of the people. And it fails to produce the
best outcomes.

Our democracy uses these specific techniques: Media free of government control. Debate. Communication between citizens and elected representatives. Elections.

Does anyone think this has produced ideal governance? Our ssystem is highly controlled by those with money and power. The Supreme Court “Citizens United” decision bizarrely claimed that money is “speech” and cannot be limited.

Our current president openly flaunts taking bribes and selling favors, including pardons.

“Debate” often is one side trying to “beat” the other rather than trying to find truth. We are organized into tribes that we are loyal to. We rarely talk to members of other tribes.

Problems like the Climate Crisis require long-term thinking and short-term sacrifice. We need deep understanding, not pithy populism.

Modern technology offers solutions if we are willing to use them. My friend Dan Kimball has developed software called Collaboration Cafe that could be very helpful.

Consider a typical conference. Perhaps 2,000 people come to present and hear talks. You may meet and talk to a dozen or more people. But you never meet most people and have no idea what they might offer you.

Collaboration Cafe would be able to glean what all 2,000 people can offer and what each needs. It could match people up who otherwise never would discover their mutual benefits. Imagine if this were applied to the entire country!

It can also facilitate conversations among people with a range of agreements and disagreements. It can summarize diverse views and find common ground, and find as well specific areas of disagreement that might be resolved through dialogue. The Habermas Machine – an AI system developed by Google DeepMind to help human groups find common ground – is a related tool.

The democracy of the future can be facilitated by such artificial intelligence tools. Decisions would still be by people, but the tools can help us find better common ground and better outcomes. I plan to write more about these tools as they are tested and proved in the real world.

The U.S. has a “go its own way” attitude. At worst, this means that the U.S. fails to learn from other places. That’s one reason we lack modern health care and transportation systems found in other industrialized countries. But at best it can mean that we are willing to use innovative tools to build an even more perfect union for our next 250 years.