Themes
Sustainability needs flourishing democracy

Here is the crisis of the times as I see it: We talk about problems, issues, policies, but we don’t talk about what democracy means — what it bestows on us — the revolutionary idea that it isn’t just about the means of governance but the means of dignifying people so they become fully free to claim their moral and political agency. (Bill Moyers, ‘The Power of Democracy’, 2007)
As Winston Churchill infamously once said, “It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried”.
Democracy isn’t static. It will always be unfinished, and can and will always improve and adapt. More than that, as flawed as existing democracies might be, there is no alternative political system currently in play with such great potential to value the ideas and perspectives of the most marginalised people in any given society.
The basic needs of thriving democracy include the fresh air of transparency, wide rights of public access to information and public participation; responsiveness and accountability of public institutions and elected representatives, access to justice, and respect for fundamental human rights and the rule of law.
Today though, democracy around the world is threatened by multiple stresses and strains. These stresses and strains that make it far more difficult for people to take on the challenges of sustainability, as our story from the favelas of Rio de Janeiro shows.
Sustainability needs democracy to flourish – even before thinking about how to design a flourishing democracy that’s designed with sustainability in mind.
Here’s what the Manifesto for Democracy and Sustainability says about the principle that sustainability needs flourishing democracy.
Manifesto for Democracy and Sustainability, Principle 1: Sustainability needs flourishing democracy
Democracy has multiple forms. It can always improve and must always adapt. Democracy is the best political system for people to secure a healthy environment and fairness for everyone now and in the future.
Democracy must never be a sham. Real democracy is much more than elections and voting: it also means that everyone commits to fairness and to ensuring vibrant and meaningful public participation in decision-making, especially by the most marginalised people. This means responsibility to future as well as current generations of people.
If it is to thrive and bounce back from shocks and uncertainties, democracy needs to be supported through citizenship education. It also requires effective measures to ensure freedom from vested commercial and financial interests; freedom from corruption; diverse and accountable politicians and public officials; a free and independent media; transparency; access to justice; the rule of legitimate law; an independent judiciary; and the upholding of all human rights.
Commitments
We commit to lead by example; deepening democratic decision-making through the ways in which we engage with other people, both in the real world and online.
We encourage our communities, our elected representatives, and leaders around the world to take up practices that demonstrate strong commitment to democracy with people at its heart.
We call on civic leaders and elected representatives to show the leadership that is essential for democratic renewal.