The Sixth Estate?

It is the same everywhere. Whether you are in a socialist, capitalist or social-democratic or any other society, it is the top echelon of leaders who make all the important decisions. Whether or not they are making good decisions for the interests of everyone is another matter.

However, you don’t need to join a political party to bring about positive change in society.

You can be involved in politics in general without being a member of any political party. Why not? Since politics, economy and social issues affect all of us, there must be a constructive way we can take part in politics, besides casting our votes once every four or five years.

Politics Without Being A Politician

If the mass media has been termed as the Fourth Estate, the new social media as the Fifth Estate, then an independent and effective think-tank can be part of the Sixth Estate of power in society.

If you are part of a large, effective and independent think-tank, you can take part in politics without being a politician. There have been many cases where a good and well-presented report by a think-tank has changed the intended policy direction of some governments.

The effectiveness or impact of a think-tank, like many other organisations, is dependent on its perceived independence (integrity), quality of its analysts and researchers and the financial and data resources available.

Source:
Think-tanks as the Sixth Estate
http://www.thesundaily.my/news/438818