Source: www.mashable.com | Original Post Date: September 14, 2010 –
In the land of all-night samba clubs and soccer fanatics, Brazil is throwing its famously high-energy spirit into the untested waters of online democracy. Multimillion dollar budgets are being handed over to online “town halls,” and the federal government is crowdsourcing legislative consulting through interactive web tools.
While the effectiveness of e-democracy has yet to be proven, there are some signs of more equitable resource distribution and increased participation. Here, we’ll take a look at participatory budgeting, e-legislation, and why the United States Congress has been more hesitant to adopt such technologies.
A History of Democratic Innovation
Readers who are somewhat familiar with Brazil’s tattered history of corruption may have difficulty swallowing ...
