In an interview with Dharshini David, Moyo cited several "intractable problems" that
have been fostered by our political climate, which public policy makers have continually
failed to address. These included income inequality, national debt, resource scarcity and a
decline in opportunities for unskilled work, making the point that less than 2% of the US
workforce are currently involved in agriculture.
Despite this decidedly downbeat proclamation, the talk’s second half was more positive,
with Moyo asserting that she was an eternal optimist and proposing a number of long term
solutions to this crisis of democracy. One of these, met by some questioning amongst the
audience, was the suggestion of a weighted voting system during referenda – that is,
making a ballot count more or less depending on whether people show knowledge and
engagement in the political process. This, Moyo said, would improve rather than reconfigure
democracy entirely, creating engaged voters and not ‘passive bystanders’ in politics.
If you missed Moyo’s talk, you might enjoy Event 88: Linda Yueh talks to Bronwen Maddox,
at 11.30am tomorrow.