Greater Democracy was formed with these broad purposes in mind:

1. To explore the roots, goals, and intentions of democratic governance in the United States,
2. To look critically at the governance structures and models currently operating in the U.S., considering what works, what doesn’t work, and (especially) what might work much better, especially in the interest of facilitating more and better citizen participation,
3. To consider how new communications technologies support democracy, and how we can ensure that the effectiveness of those technologies is not constrained by ill-considered policy or development, and
4. To use technology to lower the cost of campaigning, so that any citizen can afford to run for office, not just those supported by wealthy and powerful interest groups.