Saturday, June 11, 2011

Iceland OS 2.1

In the wake of the economic disaster and remarkable recovery of Iceland, they have made the decision to reboot there governing system. They resisted the IMF and also held the financial institutions and government officials behind the collapse responsible. The former prime minister, Geir Haarde of the country is going to be charged for his involvement in the disaster. 
Meanwhile, the constitution, which was inherited from Denmark when Iceland gained its independence in 1944 is being scrapped and rewritten. They realize it is an out dated system, like an obsolete computer operating system which can be hacked and sabotaged by trolls who know how to manipulate it.
The constitution, in fact, is being drafted on the internet. The entire population of Iceland is invited to participate through Facebook and Twitter. The Constitutional Council has a YouTube Channel which posts the latest discussions of ideas and progress.
Perhaps this is possible because Iceland's population is less than 500,000 and the insular nature of the country enforces the sense of community awareness and interest.
Thorvaldur Gylfason, a member of the constitutional council, noted the level of goodwill and how positive and helpful the comments on the Facebook page have been. The constitution will be approved in a referendum, without any changes made by parliament, so this will be a document truly by the people, for the people. This seems so fitting for the country which is the worlds oldest continuous truly representational democracy.

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