How to Eliminate Politics as a Profession

Citizens Rising #9: A Realistic Strategy to Make the Career Politician Disappear

The American people consistently rank career politicians among the least trustworthy professions. At the same time, professional politicians are supposed to represent us, and they have more power over our lives than any other profession.

In other words, we permit a system to exist which produces “leaders” that we neither trust nor respect. By allowing it to continue, are we not engaged in a kind of collective madness or civic suicide?

Gallup, “Honesty and Ethics of Professions Ratings,” Dec. 2–18, 2024 (published January 2025).
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Almost no one ever proposes abolishing politics as a profession. Probably, most people reflexively think it would be impossible.

In fact, compared to our nation’s other great political reforms—the abolition of slavery and the winning of women’s suffrage—the abolition of political careerism is relatively easy. Ending slavery and giving women the vote faced enormous opposition in their days, both politically and culturally. To end slavery required a civil war.

Today, however, when it comes to our collective distaste and distrust of professional politicians, “We the People” are united in a non-partisan way like on almost no other issue. A powerful consensus waits to be tapped.

Two elements are necessary to abolish politics as a profession. First, we need to show how representative democracy might work without professional politicians. These are subjects we have already explored. See, particularly, Citizens Rising #6 and Citizens Rising #7.

Second, we require a realistic path forward. The first progressives, who were nonpartisan, left us a powerful tool, which we can use today to bypass the political class and vanish the career politician: the citizens’ initiative and referendum.

Citizens’ initiative referendum processes generally work like this: Citizens gather a required number of signatures on petitions in order to place a proposed law, charter amendment or constitutional amendment on a municipal or state ballot (there is no such legal process at the federal level). If the number of submitted signatures is certified to be valid, and the language on the petition consistent with law, then the proposed new law or amendment goes on the ballot for the people to decide through direct democracy.

Again, it means that the people get to decide without the interference of professional politicians. The citizens’ initiative is the people’s battering ram to break down the walls that protect the current system.

In most places at the local level, and in at least 17 states, the people themselves can amend municipal charters and state constitutions. In such cases, we can end professionalism in politics while massively expanding representative democracy for the Information Age, and there is nothing the political class can do to stop us. Once accomplished, we will have created a political culture of citizen-based representative democracy throughout the United States in which the notion of professionalism in elected offices becomes unthinkable.

The American father of the citizens’ initiative and referendum, Oregon Representative William S. U’Ren, explained the reform he championed:

“The initiative and referendum do not give the people any new power; they merely provide a means by which the people may exercise the sovereign power they already possess, to protect themselves against the corruption and tyranny of their own servants in the legislature.”

Is this not exactly what the American people need now, at this moment in our history, to protect ourselves against the corruption and tyranny of our elected officials?

Presently, 75-85% of all Americans are represented locally in electoral districts of 30,000 inhabitants or more. Electoral districts for local government, which is supposed to be close to the people, are now usually bigger than the congressional districts envisioned by George Washington.

Even though only 25-35% of these elected local officials are full-time, most of them are aspiring professional politicians who must raise significant amounts of money to run for office in their sprawling and populous districts. They are all professional politicians-in-training, on the first rungs of the ladder of their political careers. Many local officials, like city councilors and county commissioners—whether full time or not—are already learning the corrupt practice of collecting money from the same special interests they are supposed to regulate, such as when they take campaign contributions from real estate developers.

Reduce all local electoral districts to no more than 10,000 residents (even less would be better) and every district becomes walkable and winnable with handshakes, flyers and yard signs. Elections in small districts become all about personal reputations and relationships, not money and marketing. Special interests therefore lose their influence.

Through citizens’ initiatives, approximately two-thirds of America’s overly large local electoral districts can be reduced in size, and municipal councils greatly expanded. Most of America’s largest cities can be reformed this way, and no professional politician can stop us (though, inevitably, a few corrupt judges will be problematic).

Imagine New York City, Los Angeles and Houston governed by many normal people, elected by their neighbors, instead of these cities being dominated by relatively small cabals of professional politicians taking huge sums of money from special interests.

Importantly, we need not reinvent the wheel. Some of the world’s most successful cities outside of the United States operate with everyday people actually in charge.

If we were to successfully reduce all local electoral districts possible via a citizens initiative process, and add to that the sum all of the existing local districts under 30,000 inhabitants, then the vast majority of all Americans would live under a system of reasonably-sized districts and without professional politicians at the local level (we could continue to work on getting every local district below 10,000). We would be on our way to changing the political culture of the United States in favor of representative citizen democracy, without career politicians.

The next strategic pivot would be even more momentous. Today, in 17 US states—Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, and South Dakota—the people themselves, through citizens’ initiatives, could obliterate political careerism in their states and massively expand representative democracy.

Reforming just one of the larger of these states, to remove professionalism in elected officials and massively expand office-holding to many everyday citizens, would be a game changer. It would be proof of concept and model what is possible at the federal level. Everyone would see that we don’t need professional politicians to govern us, not now and not ever.

Massachusetts, Mississippi and Utah can probably be added to the above list, though each of these three states faces some hurdle not present in the cases of the already-mentioned 17 states. That would bring us to 20 states which can be won over to our Information Age, citizen-based, representative democracy model, using a citizens’ initiative.

Each of the reformed states with de-professionalized democratic representation would then have a decentralized, part time, lower house elected from districts of not more than 20,000 inhabitants. Each representative would keep his or her day job and legislate from home. Part-time state representatives would number in the hundreds or even thousands, placing these state governments solidly in the hands of the people.

State senators could be appointed indirectly by lower houses, possibly serve full-time at the capital, but should be strictly term limited, maybe to only one term.

We can assume that all 20 of these states, once reformed, would then favor de-professionalizing the US Congress also.

To call a convention to reform the US Congress, as permitted under Article V of the Constitution, requires three-quarters of all US states, or 34 states, so we would need fourteen more.

Many of the smallest US states already have reasonable representation ratios in their lower houses. Of the 14 smallest states not mentioned above, none have lower house districts of more than 50,000 inhabitants. Nine of these small states have lower houses elected from districts of 30,000 inhabitants or less. None have an upper house with districts exceeding 125,000. These small states can be reformed and brought to support an Article V Convention to de-professionalize the US Congress the “conventional” way. In these states, we will have to vote out the professional politicians that block our path.

Larger states without citizens’ initiatives at the state level might join us. Even a mighty state like Texas could reform itself and support an Article V Convention to fix Congress, once it’s great cities like Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio are reformed to exclude professional politicians and expand representative democracy.

New York City, a municipality larger than entire countries, could be democratized through a citizens’ initiative, which would constitute a body blow against that city government’s radicalization and corruption. Not unrelatedly, New York has among the most top-down city governments in the USA. With New York controlled by everyday people, would New York State be too far behind?

It’s all about changing the political culture on the ground, making professionalism in politics no longer acceptable among our people, and showing everyone that there is a viable and exciting alternative.

Starting locally in a great campaign to abolish professionalism in politics means that that there is something every citizen could do tomorrow. Committees to expand local democratic representation could immediately form up in every American city and county.

The process of reversing the corruption in our political system could be much easier and come much faster than anyone believes possible. Imagine a civic-minded billionaire (are you reading this Elon Musk?) financing citizens’ initiatives for massively expanded representative democracy in deep blue California and in deep red Florida. Each of these states has an economy, population and geography larger than most nations. Winning them over to Information-Age representative democracy, without professional politicians, could supercharge the necessary democratic transformation. It’s not an exaggeration to suggest it could reverse the failing trajectory of whole democratic world and revive western civilization.

It doesn’t matter how long it takes. As with the abolition of slavery and women’s suffrage, we must do that which is necessary. The stakes could not be higher. Our political dysfunction is systemic. With the utmost urgency, it’s time to begin fixing our American political system so that it no longer prioritizes politicians and interests but instead serves “We the People.”

Stephen Erickson

Citizens Rising