Democracies are designed to reflect the will of the people. Democracies are designed to accord with current thinking. All this is the opposite of ‘new ideas’. New ideas are new and therefore the opposite of current thinking.
Democracies are designed for stability and continuity not for progress through new ideas.
For these – and many other reasons – there is a need for a ‘Council for New Thinking’. This council would never attack the government but would have the role of producing new ideas and testing them with opinion polls. If an idea is popular the government may want to use it. Government itself is not allowed to test ideas in this way. The Council may also suggest ‘initiatives’ which people can use if they wish. There is no need for initiatives to become law.
Serbia has set up the first Council for New Thinking.
Edward de Bono
