Photo: Brian Turner
A couple days ago I posted about the intriguing notion that anyone can write bills, which with a little hard work and a lot of luck can become a law.
Open Source Movement
I just started reading the book “Drive†which examines the motivation for human beings to behave the way we do. The hypothesis is that a simple cost benefit analysis is not enough to explain human behavior – there are other factors that must come into play because we do not always act in our own best interest.
An obvious example of this is the current trend of open source software. Why would anyone spend 20+ hours a week of their free time to work on open source programs? THEY AREN’T PAID FOR IT! But they do feel challenged, get the feeling of contributing to something larger than themselves, and develop their programming skills. Sometimes this is enough to convince a software developer to contribute.
A Wiki For Writing Bills
Let’s take the whole concept of Wikipedia and apply it to laws. Anyone can contribute to bills on the Wiki and therefore the whole responsibility does not rest on any one person. A mother in Ohio may work on one section, a farmer in California another, and a retired lawyer in Florida can make sure the wording is correct. By combining our efforts we can accomplish much more than individually and hopefully patch up the holes in our legal system.
This is inherently more difficult than Wikipedia – whereas Wikipedia is based on facts, Wikilaw is based on opinion. But this could be the best part about it! Your goal should be to produce bills which both Republicans and Democrats support. This can best be achieved with a bipartisan effort working together online on the same bill. Once the bill is complete, the community can vote on it – if it passes it is time to find a sponsor, if not it is back to the drawing board.
No Way in Hell
The naysayers will say that this will never work. “No matter how many amateurs you gather, you can’t equal the ability and experience of politicians.†This is where I am going to have to disagree. Common sense said that the quality of Wikipedia was going to suffer because there were no qualifications needed to contribute. In reality it is a self-policing environment that has produced surprising quality and amazing breadth.
Given the enthusiasm to contribute to human knowledge, I would expect the same contribution towards human laws. Lawyers aren’t black-hearted – they want to help society just like everyone else. Unfortunately, because everyone is awarded the right to counsel by the 6th amendment, there are plenty of lawyers representing the bad guys. They could put their legal training to good use by editing bills on the Wiki, closing the very loopholes they know so well, and thus generating a warm-fuzzy feeling inside.
Making it Easier for the Little Man
When writing the previous post I realized how difficult it would actually be to get a law passed. Beyond the difficult legal diction in a bill, you have to find a Congressman to propose it and generate enough buzz to make the others care. A Wiki could be a one stop site for all three.
Just as OpenCongress.org provides Congress insight into how the public feels about proposed bills, Wikilaw would provide insight into the laws the public wants to create. But what could really be exciting is the press that would come with a finished bill – a bill written for the people by the people! How can you not get behind that?
Take the Power Away From Lobbyists
Have you ever wondered who does in fact write the bills? Well you can be darned sure most the time it isn’t the Congressmen sitting down by the fireplace with a glass of brandy (as I imagined). An interview with an insider reveals it is most likely non-partisan staff lawyers under direction of Congress or lobbyists.
Lobbyists write bills? You better believe it. And it appears to be more frequent in the state governments where there are less people paying attention – up to 60% of the new laws passed! Why is this a problem? They usually aren’t lobbying for the interest of the general populace, but rather for ways to enable their companies to make money.
Who Is With Me?
I believe something should be done and a cooperative community like Wikilaw just may do the trick. Do you think it would work? Do you think strict rules would have to be put in place or could it be self-policing?