Making The Existing Model Obsolete

We need to create a better model or style of government so we can completely junk the old one that doesn’t work for the majority of us... We need one that doesn't aid and abet a genocide.

Before the main event, I’d like to share this great comment by UN Special Rapporteur for the Occupied Territories of Palestine Francesca Albanese on the food blockade to Gaza, the GHF, and the lack of response from the international community:

This is the most sadistic exercise in intellectual gymnastics I’ve ever come across. (Found at the 42 minute mark: youtu.be/tLa4BT0J8Q4)

More videos featuring Francesca Albanese listed below the article.

You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete. ~Buckminster Fuller, US Architect, Systems Theorist, Author, Designer, Inventor and Futurist

Making The Existing Model Obsolete

by C.A. Matthews

“That’s the way it is,” I’m often told whenever I criticize the corrupt governmental system in the US. “We can’t do any better than that,” I’m informed. “It’s the best we’ve got.”

I’m not one for absolutes. My usual response to that kind of statement is, “How can you be so sure it’s the best? Have we ever tried anything radically different and compared the two?”

My challenge to their belief that they live in a “democracy” isn’t what most people want to hear. It makes them uncomfortable. If our system of government in the US was compared to something else and found wanting, well… You get where I’m coming from.

Americans who don’t like change are comfortable with the status quo. They’re not hurting financially or going without health care. They’re not starving or skipping meals. They’re not sleeping rough in the streets.

Sure, these Americans might have some beefs about paying taxes and they’ll hold grudges against elected officials who failed to stand up to their promises, but they’re not going to welcome an entirely new system of government just because of those things. A sudden change in the governmental system might upturn these comfortable Americans’ apple cart. They can’t have that.

I’m not one of those people. I’m not that comfortable financially, physically, or intellectually with the existing model. I can’t stand the hypocrisy, hate, and violence the American system engenders. I’m for Revolution, a complete change of direction, a total tear-down of the prevalent framework and a building of a different model that works for working people, not corporations and their CEOs.

I go along with Buckminster Fuller—we need to create a better model or style of government so we can completely junk the old one that doesn’t work for the majority of us.

So, what would I replace the present “representative democracy” (that is, in reality, an oligarchy according to the 2014 Princeton study) in the United States with? Change always starts with an idea. I have an idea, a pretty good idea. It may not be your idea, but I thought I’d float it by you and get your feedback.

I envision creating a government system that is a democracy that actually works like a democracy and not an oligarchy. I know—it’s sounds crazy. But call me crazy, and see if I care.

The governmental model that speaks to me the best is a unicameral one. That means a government with one chamber only. No, it’s not a new idea. Actually it exists in countries like New Zealand and Denmark and in one state in the US, Nebraska, and two US territories, Guam and the Virgin Islands.

I think one chamber is more efficient and beneficial for the working people. In a bicameral government the “upper chamber” or house is specifically set-up for the benefit of the elites. Look at the United Kingdom’s House of Lords. Their members are appointed by the king from a list of recommended “peers” who tend to be extremely wealthy.

The United States’ Senate isn’t all that different. In fact, federal senators were appointed by the states’ governors until 1913 when the 17^th Amendment allowed senators to be elected directly to office. The Founders of the US were fearful of the “rabble” in the House of Representatives gaining too much power, so the Senate was created to keep the “rabble rousers” in their place. They didn’t want the rich land-owners of the North and the aristocratic slave-owners of the South to suffer from too much democracy. And they never have.

Even the first Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton (the real one—not the one in the musical) called ordinary Americans the “mob at the gate” and stated that they were “Our real disease, which is Democracy.” Ouch.

An example of a lower chamber is the US House of Representative, currently frozen at 435 members since 1929. The average number of people represented in a district has more than tripled since that time, from about 210,000 in 1910 to about 760,000 in 2020. I find this set-up ridiculous.

Almost a million people sharing the same representative is way too large a number for an efficient democracy. The US Constitution also allows sparsely populated states to have more representatives than some heavily populated ones, which isn’t fair, in my opinion. A better model would allow a representative to represent constituents in two or more neighboring states if necessary.

After all, how is a representative supposed to really get to know his/her district and their needs if it’s numerically so big and physically spread out? Smaller districts means representatives can focus their attention on the issues, activities, and businesses relevant to that area. Added bonus: No more gerrymandering! I envision totally nonpartisan elections.

In my one-chamber government, there would be a good number of members to provide proper representation to all—let’s say one representative per 250,000 people. In the US, that would increase the House to about 1320 members. It’s a big number, but it is workable and should be considered if we want to build a democracy and not an oligarchy.

The length of a campaign season would be shortened considerably (as it is in many other countries). How about a campaign season of 90 days or less? All candidates running for office would receive equal time on the public airwaves and in the press to present their agendas during those three months, too.

Representatives in smaller districts would be able to focus better on the needs of their constituency, not on fulfilling promises to corporate donors to their election campaigns as current US Congress members are apt to do. In my model of government there would be no money from corporations, lobbyists, billionaires, and political action committees (PACs) allowed. No dark money, either.

There would be publicly funded elections and term limits for every office. No one stays eternally in office or takes backhanders from billionaires. No more “professional politicians” who leave office worth hundred millions of dollars more than when they entered. I know—it’s a radically different concept from what most Americans are used to, but I think we’d adapt to it in time.

I know you’re dying to know what sort of president, prime minister, emperor, or king would be in charge of this unicameral government model. So sorry to disappoint you, but I don’t see any need for such a position. None at all.

Sure, there could be a “president or chief executive officer” of the house/chamber/parliament to help keep order during votes and debates, but it would be a temporary position, not a permanent one. Everyone in the chamber would get a chance to be the chief executive for a day or maybe even a week. The chief could be chosen by random in a lottery of sorts, with no bad feelings or mandatory boot-licking necessary. In that way, no representative is ever top dog for long, and they aren’t tempted to lord over the others.

This position would have no connection to any political party or organization. I agree with George Washington about the evil of political parties that he elaborated upon in his farewell speech. Political parties wouldn’t be outlawed per se, but they wouldn’t be allowed to exercise the power they currently have in most Western nations. All representatives of government would work solely for their constituents, not their party.

No one would be able to use the chief executive position to write executive orders in such a way that would destroy the democratic nature of the government. The chief executive would be purely a functional position responsible for the smooth running of the chamber, nothing else.

Can you imagine if the US had such a chief executive now? Can you imagine if this person worked for us, did what we wanted them to do, and didn’t work for the military-industrial complex? No more wars for oil! No more financing and arming Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people! No more building military bases around the world! No more antagonizing other nuclear powers!

“But we need a president or a prime minister to represent our country abroad,” some of you are saying about now. “If we don’t have one person who’s permanently head of state, nobody will know they’re dealing with us or how to deal with us.”

But heads of state change all the time. They die, are assassinated, get couped, don’t get re-elected, get sick, retire, etc. It’s no big deal. Besides, why not have a responsible civil servant handle all diplomatic events and represent our country in foreign lands? Professional diplomats would do a better job representing the people of the US than the current head of state does. A whole lot better!

Think of how much stronger relations with other countries would be if we had subject experts and diplomats handling negotiations and treaties. Think of how wars would become a thing of the past if we had representatives who actually worked for ordinary people like us, representatives who cared about listening to us and keeping us safe. For instance, a democratic government out of respect for its citizens and others would fully cooperate on global environmental initiatives that could help all of humanity deal with the effects of climate change.

Really, who really needs a freakin’ president? Without an executive branch, the unicameral legislative body and civil servant agencies could handle things smoothly without interference from malignant narcissists such as Trump.

But what about the courts? We’d still need some form of judicial branch, right? I’m in two minds about having any kind of permanent “supreme court”. I think district courts with a full bench—at least seven judges—could handle any Constitutional questions or appeals from lower courts. Judges could be elected by either a direct vote of the people or by the members of the unicameral chamber. Term limits and non-partisanship would apply to all judges as well. No one keeps their seat for life or makes a deal to get appointed.

With courts that work for the people and not the corrupt system itself that serves the wealthy elites, we would see an end to the abuses we see today. No masked kidnappers without warrants—that is, ICE. Due process would be the norm, not the exception. Restorative justice not retributive justice would be emphasized. No more death penalty, either.

It’s a work in progress, but I think my model of how to build an actual democracy has merit. No “supreme leaders”. No partisan politics or corporate-owned politicians. A consistent and even-handed foreign policy and professional federal agencies that help the working people live safer, healthier lives, not just the billionaires.

Call my model the Unicameral People-Powered form of government or Cindy’s Simple System of Democracy. I don’t care. Whatever it’s called, I believe it could work. It certainly would work better than the “non-checks and balances” of the current system in the US.

And it’s always good to have an answer to those folks who will no doubt ask you, “Well, what kind of government would you say is better than what we have already?”

So, how about we tear down the rotten one we got now and give this one a shot? All we’ve got to lose is our ties to the oligarchy.

Editor’s note: Under my model of government, corporations would not be considered “persons” in any legal sense. Corporations could be dissolved whenever necessary for breaking civil or criminal laws. They wouldn’t be allowed to become monopolies with state-like powers (see AT&T Hates Our Cat). Corporations were never meant to be permanent entities—this was the case in the US up until the late 19^th century when corporations started using the Fourteenth Amendment to claim they were “legal persons” with the same protections and rights as human beings. As if!

Articles and Videos To Make The Corrupt Model Obsolete

Archive of Genocide Video Evidence https://twitter.com/xIsraelExposedx/status/1941558732766257415

WATCH NOW: 'Gaza: Doctors Under Attack' – The Full Film They Didn't Want You To See https://zeteo.com/p/watch-now-gaza-doctors-under-attack

Gaza’s Grassroots Effort to Ensure Humanitarian Aid Reaches Starving Palestinians https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/gaza-tribal-clans-protect-aid-convoys-massacres

New footage exposes ragtag US mercenaries firing toward Gaza aid seekers https://thegrayzone.substack.com/p/new-footage-exposes-ragtag-us-mercenaries

Imperial Hypocrisy About "Terrorism" Hits Its Most Absurd Point Yet https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/imperial-hypocrisy-about-terrorism

Q&A: Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories (3 July 2025) youtu.be/tLa4BT0J8Q4

The report on companies profitting from genocide in Gaza: https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/sessions-regular/session59/advance-version/a-hrc-59-23-aev.pdf

To Kill A War Machine (stream the film) https://tokillawarmachine.com/

US Approves $510 Million Arms Deal for Israel https://news.antiwar.com/2025/06/30/us-approves-510-million-arms-deal-for-israel/

“Have Some Blood! You Like Shedding It All Over the World So Much? There You Go!” https://husseini.substack.com/p/have-some-blood-you-like-shedding

Calls to GI Hotlines Rise as Service Members Consider Defying Trump’s Orders https://truthout.org/articles/calls-to-gi-hotlines-rise-as-service-members-consider-defying-trumps-orders/

BBC staff: We're forced to do pro-Israel PR https://www.owenjones.news/p/bbc-staff-were-forced-to-do-pro-israel

Israel continues to Starve, Target Gaza Civilians in ongoing Genocide https://www.juancole.com/2025/07/continues-civilians-genocide.html

Syria Talks With Israel Involve Seizing North Lebanon https://news.antiwar.com/2025/07/06/report-syria-talks-with-israel-involve-seizing-north-lebanon/

Who Really Won The '12-Day War'? https://www.kitklarenberg.com/p/who-really-won-the-12-day-war

The American Mirage: Why U.S. "Democracy" is a Dictatorship of Capital https://futuredude.substack.com/p/the-american-mirage-why-us-democracy

The Empire Has Accidentally Caused The Rebirth Of Real Counterculture In The West https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/the-empire-has-accidentally-caused

Flying kites for peace at Whiteman air force base used to bomb Iran (Codepink) youtu.be/VgZqizGlguY

Iran Damaged 33,000 Structures in Israel https://consortiumnews.com/2025/07/02/iran-damaged-33000-structures-in-israel/

Starlink’s Secret War: How Musk Is Powering a Covert Campaign Against Iran https://www.mintpressnews.com/elon-musk-starlink-iran-regime-change/290096/

As Death Toll Rises in TX Floods, DOGE Cuts May Have Set Victims Up for Disaster https://truthout.org/articles/as-death-toll-rises-in-tx-floods-doge-cuts-may-have-set-victims-up-for-disaster/

BRICS expands to 56% of world population, 44% of global GDP: Vietnam joins as partner country https://www.geopoliticaleconomy.report/p/brics-expansion-population-gdp-vietnam

Multiple Countries Just Issued Travel Warnings for the U.S. https://www.yahoo.com/news/multiple-countries-just-issued-travel-075502761.html

GOP Budget Bill Would Make ICE ‘Largest Federal Law Enforcement Agency in the History of the Nation’ https://scheerpost.com/2025/07/03/gop-budget-bill-would-make-ice-largest-federal-law-enforcement-agency-in-the-history-of-the-nation/

Will Zohran Mamdani Empower or Betray the Working Class? (w/ Kshama Sawant) | The Chris Hedges Report https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/will-zohran-mamdani-empower-or-betray

Mahmoud Khalil, Palestinian Activist Jailed by ICE for 104 Days, in First Live Interview https://scheerpost.com/2025/07/04/exclusive-mahmoud-khalil-palestinian-activist-jailed-by-ice-for-104-days-in-first-live-interview/

We May Finally See Inside The Voting Machines https://realleecamp.substack.com/p/we-may-finally-see-inside-the-voting

Haiti’s Political Impasse https://nacla.org/haitis-political-impasse/

A neural brain implant provides near instantaneous speech https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/06/a-neural-brain-implant-provides-near-instantaneous-speech/

A good laugh: "Rev. Sue Parfitt just weeks away from developing a nuclear bomb" https://www.normalisland.co.uk/p/rev-sue-parfitt-just-weeks-away-from

Where do our tax dollars go? https://www.notmytaxdollars.org/