For the fun of a polite discussion.
SASless,
You have previously expressed the strong desire for Democracy and Freedom and have recently asked for a way forward. Here is a concept for consideration.
The fundamentals of the concept are currently referred to by the names; Participatory Democracy, Direct Democracy, Referendum, Plebiscite; and even Electronic Communism.
The exponential growth of personal computers and the Internet should allow a system where every person in a country would have a direct vote, on every issue. They could give proxy to another person to vote in their behalf. However, the system would have the automatic ability to replace the proxy vote by a direct vote, should the person wish to be assured that his vote was used in a specific way on a specific issue.
There would initially be problems, like there were in California with the early plebiscites. These initial problems would probably be no worse than those that are currently made by elected officials. The people would soon realize the power that they held and they would start to apply a more serious consideration to the votes that they made. There would still be a need for government employees, but no need for politicians.
Perhaps, companies would have a vote. Perhaps, the number of votes that a person or company has is dependant upon the amount of tax that they pay.
The above is a very simplistic overview, but, perhaps it is time for advanced societies to consider alternatives to the current system.
Dave