Democratic Trusteeship
Democratic Trusteeship
Institutions to Protect the Future of the Democratic Process
The chapter proposes the establishment of an independent body—a commission or a citizens’ assembly—that would serve as a trustee to protect the democratic capacity of political systems over time. The principle guiding the body holds that citizens in democratic states at any present time should seek to preserve a democratic process that gives future citizens at least as much capacity for collective decision making as present citizens have. The body would have the power to exercise a suspensive veto to delay laws that risk damage to the democratic process, require governments to issue posterity impact statements, produce annual democratic balance sheets that indicate gains and losses of democratic capacity, propose legislation to implement age-differentiated political rights, and establish contingency trust funds to compensate for damage done to the democratic process.
Keywords: accountability, age-differentiated rights, citizens’ assembly, constitutional convention, democratic process, future generations, justice, tribune, trustee, utility
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