Shorter Lessig: we the people have to fix government before government can fix our problems.

I love what Lawrence Lessig has to say, because he is addressing a root problem:

• politicians can't do the job of governing well while they are raising money for re-election;
• the solution is to fix the system;
• creating transparency about the role of money in government is how to fix the political system;
• with the use of Internet tools, citizens can mobilize as volunteers in a grassroots movement to fix their own government;
• when the people have mobilized to remove financial conflicts of interest, then the government will actually be able to act effectively on pressing issues like global warming.

What can I do?

If you want to get involved (in light of this weekend's discussion on how we can all make a difference), you can participate in Lessig's (anti-)corruption wiki.

Lawrence Lessig's blog (and RSS feed)

Wikipedia on Lawrence Lessig

Required Reading: the next 10 years -- Lessig's blog post recapping his announcement at his keynote address to the iCommons iSummit 07, that he would be changing his focus from IP to political corruption