Democratized economy

Strict laws should curb the lobbying power of corporate interests. We advocate for a democratisation on the work floor: employees need to have a say on the transition of their companies and organizations. We want impactful citizens assemblies, organised and institutionalised by the governments and working closely with the social partners. This democratisation is needed to make the crucial decisions on which environmentally harmful sectors need to phase out at which pace, and which sustainable sectors need to grow. Absolutely everyone needs to be on board. 




The great challenges we face, both social and environmental, call for profound economic changes. Current democratic institutions - at the municipal, regional, federal and European levels - do not seem quite equipped to meet these challenges for several reasons. Short-term electoral gains often take precedence over long-term interests; because of the lack of diversity in town halls and parliaments, too many perspectives are not included in decision-making; elected representatives are under pressure from the lobbying of powerful industrial players whose interests are sometimes at odds with those of the general population; finally, in a highly mediatized political landscape, it is extremely difficult for politicians not to succumb to simplifying and polarizing communication strategies. 

Yet it would not be productive to replace the existing parliamentary democracy with a technocratic government, in which experts single-handedly outline policy. The quality of those policies would suffer from the lack of perspectives and lived experiences. Furthermore, both the Gilets Jaunes and the fierce opposition to Covid policies demonstrated the importance of broad public support for far-reaching political decisions. What is needed is not less but more democracy. 

Crucial to confidence in decision-making is a tightening of existing legislation around the influence of lobbyists, particularly at the European level. Additional rules should limit the exchanges between lobbyists and politicians and make them more transparent. They should better guarantee the diversity of advocacy groups, as well as discourage the professional revolving door between politics and business. 

In addition, citizens' assemblies can help to further strengthen the quality of implemented policy and the public support for it. A citizens' assembly consists of a group of citizens drawn by lot who, taking into account a series of demographic criteria, form a sufficiently representative cross-section of a municipality, a region or a country. A number of inclusivity safeguards, such as per diems, transportation allowances, accommodation, childcare and other forms of support, serve to remove barriers to participation as much as possible. A citizens' assembly is presented with concrete policy questions, informed by a balanced group of experts and social partners, and then given ample time to engage in consultation and formulate policy proposals. 

There has been a great deal of experimentation with these forms of democracy in recent years, which has gradually strengthened the methodologies. One of the most successful examples is the citizens' assembly that took place in Ireland in 2016-2018, which helped legalize abortion - a topic politicians previously hardly dared to venture into in the Catholic country. The members of a citizens' assembly always bring with them their different backgrounds and views. Old and young, poor and rich, urban and rural, the practical and theoretically educated sit together at the same discussion table. Experience shows that when they learn about the interests and perspectives of others, they become more diplomatic and a lot less ideologically tenacious. 

Forms of deliberative democracy serve to complement existing representative democracy; they do not replace it. Moreover, to better ensure the real policy impact of citizens’ assemblies, anchoring them in existing institutional structures is crucial. It is up to governments to fund and organize these assemblies, to public broadcasting to cover and discuss them for a wider audience, to political parties and the social partners to engage with proposed policies. 

It is not only municipal, regional, federal and transnational governments that need to formulate answers to the enormous challenges we face. Also individual economic sectors and companies need to do that. Again: both for the quality of the conversation and the support for the final decisions, it is crucial that employees are closely involved. Strengthening and deepening existing social dialogue at the interprofessional, sectoral and company levels will help to truly future-proof our economies. 

This explainer is not necessarily endorsed by all coalition partners

Further reading