Designing the Revolution II: Direct Democracy
NOTE: This week I will be posting a series of follow-ups to Designing the Revolution, my initial response to Alix Rule’s The Revolution Will Not be Designed. At the end of the week, I’ll publish the essay in its entirety, complete with feedback to any comments made. Below is the second part of the series. You can the first part here.
Creativity can be a social contribution, but only in so far as society is free to use the results.
The above words can be found in the GNU Manifesto. Author Richard Stallman’s statement also undergirds the kind of perspective that we as activist designers ought to take. While we are fortunate enough to innovate and problem solve outside the usual activist confines, we frequently miss the point when we limit ourselves to design thinking. While the pragmatism that Alix Rule recently critiqued is enabling us to redress problems that are too marginalized for public discourse, we’re sometimes too focused, and lose the big picture of how those small problems are the result of an overarching, systemic problem.
The problem is a lack of direct democracy.
Nate Burgos outlined the potential for design thinking in his manifesto “Innovation: More than a New Year’s Resolution.” In the context of natural disaster (especially Hurricane Katrina) he aptly outlined the problem of systemic failure. Burgos asked: How do we begin to build more just, and more stable systems, especially after such catastrophe? The answer is through participatory approaches and community problem solving.
Designers aren’t politicians, this much is true, but that’s to our benefit. We can be a conduit, and best create solutions that skirt the system if we serve not only as community advocates (social engagement) but as community organizers (social change.) Here are three steps to achieving this:
- Ditch the traditional clientèle.
- Work with social change agents and organizations, especially within your community.
- Ensure that the community served has direct input in each new venture.
I will elaborate on these three points, in order, in posts later this week.
