The AEM strongly disapproves of the
suppression of ideas, and insists that any idea should be publicly
debated (except those debates that may undermine the security of the
nation).
You might think that we live in a society
that represents a broad range of ideas and philosophies, but you would
be wrong. Within academia, economic rationalism has been used as the
excuse to continually decrease the representation of many viewpoints and
paradigms within philosophy, psychology, social sciences, and political
science. Currently, our society could even have a lesser amount of philosophical
debate than
did the ancient Greeks, and because philosophy underwrites science,
science is also lacking in the representation of different ideas and
critical debate. The AEM intend to revitalize philosophy
and science, and to make Australia the most intellectually diverse
country in the world.
In politics, this situation is much worse
due to the small number of political parties representing different
philosophies, and the lack of media attention to views other than those
of the major parties. Further, most political parties merely represent
slight variations on the same theme (i.e. democratic-capitalism), as
though this is all that there is to represent. Even when we are
discussing a particular issue such as unemployment, there is a distinct
lack of alternative ideas, and so we keep seeing the same old policies
being re-applied (although they may be sold to the public in a different
way and by different political parties) and consequently, these policies
continue to keep the unemployment problem
unchanged.
The AEM intends to create a system in
which many different perspectives are represented in the policy and
law-making processes within the society. Further, we intend to allow
ordinary citizens the ability to proffer ideas, and to receive responses
to these ideas, which can be challenged again and again until the
argument
is satisfied, or until the argument succeeds in changing governmental
policy or law. These written debates will be posted on government websites
so that everybody can see what these people had to say, how the state
responded to them, and the debate that followed. Eventually, this
website will be like a philosophical database, where we can refer people
to issues that have already been debated, and from which new challenges
can be made. We also intend to provide citizens access to resources,
such as academic and media support, which allows citizens to challenge
the state on any issue, and for these challenges to be aired on near
prime-time television and radio broadcasts, which allows the person to
acquire public support for his/her ideas or grievances. Such challenges
to the state will also be responded to publicly (e.g. after these
broadcasts), which allows the citizens to understand why the government has
chosen to enact a particular policy or law.
Currently, when one objects to the way a
government department is dealing with one, there is usually no point in
arguing or pleading with the person that you get to speak to because
this person is not in charge of creating policies, and so one's
complaints, criticisms, or good ideas are futile. The AEM thinks that
those people who play the role of interface between the government and
the public should be able to send information in both directs (i.e. not
just in the direction of the public) so that peoples' criticisms,
complaints, and good ideas are acknowledged and do receive attention,
and that these people receive a response to their complaint, etc from
the government.
