I do think bottom up is a good idea, but the democracy has to be fiercely protected at all levels. The fear is that eventually a party/leader emerges at the top

I do think bottom up is a good idea, but the democracy has to be fiercely protected at all levels. The fear is that eventually a party/leader emerges at the top and never lets go of control. Then they have enough power to control all the local elections, pushing out candidates/voters they don't like (eg China).