Modernizing the American Political System

In "The Major Forces Driving Humanity", Steven Zecola details how religion, politics, science, economics and even sports have shaped human behavior over time.
The evidence shows that the progress of these forces is diverging. One example is that technology is enabling more widespread information and better communications. These capabilities reduce the dependence of individuals on the representative form of government that has been in effect since the 1700's. But technology is also creating friction with the current system by magnifying the polarization of the population in selecting its political representatives.

According to Zecola, the result of these forces working at cross-purposes is an ever-increasing political partisanship that is preventing changes that ordinary citizens would otherwise support on their own volition.

To better capitalize on the power and direction of the major forces, Zecola argues for changes in the objectives and operations of the American political system. He proposes that: 1) there should be more visibility, accountability and control by citizens into government operations and 2) that citizens should adopt concrete benchmarks for elected officials to achieve on several key metrics that impact their well-being.

Looking to the future, economics is likely to have a much bigger impact on human behavior than the other forces, particularly as booms and busts become more pronounced and create greater economic polarization along the way. Accordingly, Zecola proposes a series of economic incentives and penalties to modify organizational behavior before further backlashes occur from the growing disharmony.

Bookideas.com says that "The Major Forces Driving Humanity" is an "excellently-written" and "thought-provoking" treatise on the ways in which politics, economics, science, sports, and religion have served to foster major changes in our world.

Book Review Journal says that its readers will enjoy exploring and pondering the extensive research, teachings and opinions covering our economy, environment and future.