Right of petition was a mechanism by which citizens might interact with their government.
Upon ariving on Sigma Iotia II in 2268, Captain James T. Kirk witnessed a man's dismissal of two Iotian citizens' concerns about laundry and street lights. Incredulous, he wondered if the civilization was run by right of petition. Instead, it functioned by a system in which people payed their percentages to a boss, which was then expected to take care of them. (TOS: "A Piece of the Action")