Aviva Gabriel

“The political beauty of our online age is that it’s now actually feasible—and urgently necessary—to reengage the public in just this way. In Aristotle’s time, Athenian citizens assembled on the Pnyx hillside near the Acropolis to cast their ballots. For most of American history, elected representatives came together in the Congress to cast votes in the name of the people. Yet that kind of representation is now in name only, except if you happen to be a wealthy campaign contributor. In the coming age of e-governance, however, direct democracy will once again become feasible, and indeed inevitable.”
― Jeffrey D. Sachs, Building the New American Economy: Smart, Fair, & Sustainable

“This is an age of impunity, a time when the rich and powerful get away with their misdeeds, and are even lauded for them in some quarters.”
― Jeffrey D. Sachs, Building the New American Economy: Smart, Fair, & Sustainable

“Come Senators, Congressmen, Please heed the call, Don’t stand in the doorways, Don’t block up the halls…For the times they are a changin’.”
― Jeffrey D. Sachs, Building the New American Economy: Smart, Fair, & Sustainable

“Is there a way forward, when campaign financing and mega-lobbying have displaced the common good and have led Americans to despair about the functioning of the political system? Since incumbent politicians won’t vote for campaign reform on their own, are we doomed to a vicious circle of big money, big corruption, failing public services, and a collapse of democratic rule?”
― Jeffrey D. Sachs, Building the New American Economy: Smart, Fair, & Sustainable