Submit your original short fiction imagining a positive future for humanity that foregrounds the potential of democratic governance —and actionable steps to get us there.

Democratic institutions, values, and civic organization struggle to keep pace with a rapidly changing world. They face opposition from authoritarians and entrenched interests, and skepticism from those who live with their failures. Modern networking, information-gathering, and decision-making technologies offer new ways for people to collectively participate in decisions at all levels of society. Global society faces crises that transcend borders. If we are to survive and thrive through the coming technological, environmental, and economic upheavals, we need to develop solutions in ways that gather input from—and benefit—everyone.

Democratic futures go beyond incremental reforms of electoral systems to reimagine the mechanisms of both representative and direct forms of democracy, and the societal structures needed to enable them. They follow the principle that decisions made for a society should be made by the members of that society, balancing broad-based input with protection of rights. History has shown the imagination required to expand—and the dangers of trying to curtail—who gets input and how, and what rights are protected for whom.