By now we’re all aware that democracy has some pretty big flaws. But that doesn’t mean it’s absolutely hopeless. Just look at Ireland’s bottom-up approach to policymaking, which is helping to spur real change on the country’s most contentious issues. Ireland has what’s called The Citizens’ Assembly, in which 99 randomly selected citizens are tasked with weighing in on a particular issue and creating recommendations for how to deal with it. The Citizens’ Assembly spearheaded Ireland’s vote to overturn an abortion ban in 2018, as well as a vote to allow same-sex marriage in 2015. Now a new assembly, which was given the latest and greatest in climate change research, has put together 13 recommendations for how the government should deal with climate change. How closely the government sticks to these recommendations will have to be seen, but the structure of Ireland’s Citizens’ Assembly could become a model for other nations to create a more participatory democracy—one in which the people have a greater say when it comes to climate action.
Ireland has a brilliant approach for creating a more participatory democracy
More of Today's Solutions
How pigeons find their way home: the answer is a magnetic compass in the liver
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM For decades, researchers looked for the seat of magnetoreception in all the obvious places: the eyes, the inner ...
Read MoreFrance finally votes to strike the Code Noir from its books, its last slavery...
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM There is something disquieting about the idea that a law governing slavery could still exist on the books ...
Read More3 simple ways to save an extra $250 per month
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Everyone loves to save money, so here are three easy ways you can free up $250 in your ...
Read MoreTobacco use in the US continues to decline: Here’s why
It’s no secret that cigarette smoking increases an individual’s risk for lung cancer, heart disease, and stroke; it has long been understood as the ...
Read More
