We can see the power of distributed, crowd-sourced business models every day — witness Uber, Kickstarter, Airbnb. But veteran online activist Jeremy Heimans asks: When does that kind of “new power” start to work in politics? His surprising answer: Sooner than you think. It’s a bold argument about the future of politics and power; watch and see if you agree.
“New power is the deployment of mass participation and peer coordination — these are the two key elements — to create change and shift outcomes. And we see new power all around us. … Old power is held like a currency. New power works like a current. Old power is held by a few. New power isn't held by a few, it's made by many. Old power is all about download, and new power uploads. And you see a whole set of characteristics that you can trace, whether it's in media or politics or education.”
TED VIDEO: Jeremy Heimans: What new power looks like
Phi Beta Iota: Above is the meat — remarkably lacking in substance. We the People have the power to raise $1 billion a year and occupy all the home offices and front lawns of all of our corrupt public officials, but we are not coming together for lack of [what?]. It may be that we have to wait for our corrupt leaders to burn the entire country to the ground before fresh shoots emerge. That is a very sad thought. All we really need is a seed crystal for the four ideas at We the People Reform Coalition.
