When the US democracy was formed it was the “state of the art” of democratic political development. It was radically different from any previous form of democracy that had existed since the classic democracies of Greece, (507-336 BCE). Now, after 238 years, most U.S. citizens feel that the democracy that was so revolutionary and radical at the time is now so remote and distant from them as to be almost irrelevant to their lives except that its government is too large to ignore. One of the questions Basic Concepts of Social Sustainability will try to answer is, “Is it possible to design democracies to evolve in synch with citizens and the public?” Doing so would go a long way to prevent demonstrations, revolts and revolutions, which are otherwise inevitable.

In the early stages of an evolving democratic society democratic paternalism is an advantage until the public has become better educated, more informed and is technologically capable of ongoing “dialogue” with their public executives. If that paternalism does not yield to more frequent public participation as the public matures, the paternalist relationship between government and the public begins to take on a familiar and conflicted adolescent “parent-child” interaction. As with maturing children, that signals the time for citizens to take on more responsibilities in their own governance and become more fully, personally acquainted with the realities of democratic governance in the matters that sustain their communities, states and nation. Such a REALITY DEMOCRACY requires an “eyes wide open” approach to citizen participation and public executive decision-making with transparency of the facts supporting the decisions that take society in a chosen direction.

“Basic Concepts of Social Sustainability” necessarily describes the relationship between social sustainability and the evolution of democracies. The irony of this relationship could mean the difference between a democratic society that comes to its fullness and then withers and dies or one that continues for centuries. The difference will become apparent if “the government” and the public are of common opinion that “this is as good as it gets”; or, whether they are of common opinion that their democracy provides the foundation for democratic social evolution. Which do you think will lead to a sustainable democratic nation that will overcome the social, political and economic/financial vagaries and vicissitudes nationally and internationally in the centuries ahead?