Common Good Democracy™ - Where Is It Used

Overview | Representatives | Decision Steps | Budget Options | Multiple Choice Vote | Penny Vote | Leaders | Workplace | Where is it used | How is it better

				SYSTEM		EXAMPLE
	C			Proxy voting		corporations
	G			Direct representation		attorneys
	B			Line-item veto		governors
				Instant Runoff Voting		Ireland
	D			Grading		schools
	E			Internet voting		many organizations
	M			Condorcet		high tech orgs
	O			Direct vote		town meetings
	C			Penny vote		public policy polls
	R			Approval voting		scheduling
	A			Threshing sessions		hearings
	C			Consensus		Iroquois / Quakers
				Friendly decisions		families

The overall common good bank combination of systems is very close to what people do informally within families and groups of close friends -- people we care about and share common interests with. If we're going on an outing, for example, and want to decide where to go, here's what we do: we talk about it, we take everyone's preferences into account (whether they are present or not), and we generally don't go where someone just won't go. That's what the common good bank voting system aims to do.

By combining the best of each of these systems, the common good bank democratic process will nudge society toward a more participatory, compassionate and effective self-rule. (See also "How Is It Better" and "Spectrum of Economic Systems".) Every individual component of the common good bank democratic system has been used successfully elsewhere:

• Proxy voting is the standard system used by corporations.
• Direct vote is used in public referenda and New England town meetings.
• Direct representation is used in corporate proxy votes and legal representation by an attorney or legal guardian.
• Approval voting is the usual method used within organizations, for scheduling meetings ("Which days are you available?").
• Condorcet (pair-wise) voting requires complex data-processing. It is currently used mostly by high-tech environments, including Software In the Public Interest, Inc., Gentoo Foundation, all Debian user groups (Debian is a popular Linux operating system), and a dozen other organizations.
• Penny vote is used by activist organization to poll the public on public policy issues. For example, Peace Action Coalition polls taxpayers every year on Tax Day to see how they would like their tax dollars to be spent.
• Line-item veto is used by state governors in all but seven states in the United States of America.
• Advisory veto / Consensus was used by the Iroquois Confederacy Grand Council as early as 1142 and by Quakers since the late 1600s.
• Threshing sessions happen whenever people gather to discuss something, without trying to decide anything. This includes public hearings by corporations and government agencies and discussions in New England town meetings in which a new proposal evolves.
• Internet voting has been used by France, the Netherland, Estonia, and Ontario, Canada. Some corporations, universities and other organizations also now use internet voting.
• Instant Runoff Voting is used in Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, San Francisco, CA, Burlington, VT, Cambridge, MA and many other municipalities.
• Grading is used in schools and for everything from movies to maple syrup. Slightly different grading systems are common in different countries and the common good bank™ voting system can be adjusted accordingly. The A B C D E system described on this website is intended for use in the United States and other countries where such letter grades are common.