Power Balancers

7. Massively Parallel Roles & Tasks

For disputes that cannot be resolved through mutually beneficial agreement, there is a need for people and institutions with the responsibility to make hard, but fair, decisions about who wins and who loses and by how much in each specific case. While many of the individuals who do this work are simply trying to perpetuate and take advantage of the gross inequities that exist within virtually all societal power structures, there are many individuals who are actively trying to promote and implement equitable ways of balancing power and making tough decisions. Here our focus is on eight group roles that we see as playing a critical role in massively parallel peace and democracy building. These include:

Civic Skill Builders who teach citizens about the advantages of democratic systems and how to use those systems to constructively handle the large number of difficult conflicts that inevitably occur in any modern society.
Civic Reformers who work to strengthen institutions in ways that promote wise and equitable problem-solving, while limiting incentives that lead to hyper-polarization, inequity, and corruption.
Ethical Politicians are committed to serving all citizens with honest debate and a refusal to engage in hate mongering and other destructive political tactics.
Engaged Citizens are the grassroots citizens who go beyond political hobbyism (the act of just reading the news and cheering for one's favorite political party) and the relatively simple acts of voting or making political contributions. They take advantage of the many opportunities that are available, especially at the local level, to actively participate in democratic governance.
Network Builders bring those working to strengthen democracy into mutually supportive networks.
Arbitrators and Adjudicators work with legal representatives of contending parties in both private and public settings to resolve disputes about what, exactly, the rule-of-law means in specific situations.
Law Enforcement Officials at all levels are charged with preventing citizens from defying the law. Without the remedies that their efforts provide, our legal rights could easily be violated by anyone willing and able to resort to violence and intimidation.
Empowerment Leaders are, perhaps, the most important of the power balancers. Their focus is on highlighting and correcting the society's most egregious power inequities and the unfairness that results from those inequities.