Democracy and its routes

[Alexander-hellenist]

Hell my name is mark, and im new to this website but i have been a communist for many years, but the last year i have found a new sence of purpose in the form of democracy(not democracy we misuse) but the original democracy, athenian democracy it is explained below enjoy:D


well the citizens of the country are all lotted and paid for a service to look after the country for a month(these would have to be university educated to be full citizens) and out of all of them an amount of them are selected to work to run the country for that month, experts of every sector give there advice to each asembly of people on every issue that is put forward

the ones lotted to run the country are given a wide range of options these would be devised by the top 7 political partys, and the aembly of people choose which one should be put forward, these can also be created by the people lotted as well if majority of the lotted agree on the issue at the time its put forward, this would go with the usual aparatus, free university, choice of university of miltary service

Thank you very much for reading:D

[Dimentio]

I am sympathetic to direct democracy on a local scale. On a national or continental scale, I think that it would deprive the individual citizen of a lot of her influence. In a unit of 3.000, your vote matters. Most social and political issues should be decided on that level (issues like legalisation of drugs, festivities and services).

Obviously, technical issues cannot be decided democratically though. Like for example how a doctor should operate a patient, or how the distribution system should be designed.

Obviously, some things are impractical on voting for. Like the economy. I think it is a crazy idea to for example vote on where from import fruits, or if we should produce tomatoes or toys. It is much better to give everyone what they need than to use the majority system.

[Dimentio]

By the way: Iron Maiden ~ Alexander the Great (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uE4PDI1XrjU)

[Alexander-hellenist]

Yea i know of that song lol, im very much a alexander person, a dream of uniting all mankind. I beleive he was the first true marxist of all time or perhaps his father.

I think it could work on a local scale as a national scale, a counsil to decide national issues and a council to decide local issues.

The worst thing is about how we throw about the word democracy so easily to describe or give our systems some sort of prestige as if saying we are using the great system the greeks invented but in the end its alot of lies piled upon each other, with the main culprit being the church

[Dimentio]

I am more critical of these sentiments. Alexander was not really an ideologue, but a pragmatist.

What we have today is not democracy, but parliamentarism - a form of oligarchy. The best aspects of the bourgeoisie system which we have today is not the right to vote, but the constitutionalism - and I think we should keep a strong constitutionalist system even under the future non-capitalist stages of development.

Constitutionalism prevents the worst aspects of mob rule, like referendums on people who should be whimfully executed.

[Alexander-hellenist]

i agree with keeping the constituional arangements of the bougousie, to keep stability for the future, alexander was very much a pragmatist and a dreamer i think, he tryed to bond persian and greek populations whilst these peoples were very synicle of these type of relations

I think the main point about all left views is at least the removal of big business and replacing with small business which as i know from living in england people would like to do but whilst there is big american convenience stores its unlikely

[Eleftherios]

Originally posted by Alexander-[email protected] 28, 2007 11:38 pm
I think the main point about all left views is at least the removal of big business and replacing with small business which as i know from living in england people would like to do but whilst there is big american convenience stores its unlikely
Well, replacing big business would not be progressive because that would be like reverting to an earlier stagee of capitalism. Besides, the petit-bourgeois cannot hold an independent class position anyway, leaving the working-class to lead the struggle against capitalism.


Obviously, technical issues cannot be decided democratically though. Like for example how a doctor should operate a patient, or how the distribution system should be designed.

Obviously, some things are impractical on voting for. Like the economy. I think it is a crazy idea to for example vote on where from import fruits, or if we should produce tomatoes or toys. It is much better to give everyone what they need than to use the majority system.

Of course. But that does not mean that democracy cannot function on a national or even world scale. It is a matter of giving the people more say in the government. For example, someone like Bush would not be able to continue his policies if the majority of the population disapproved of them.

By the way, I am also very much an Alexander person.

[Dimentio]

Let me make an example to why democracy by definition should be local. Democracy today is instituted not to give the citizens influence, but to make the elite knowledgeable on what the citizens want. That is both quantitative and qualitative features.

I think that if we should have democracy, that it should be local and based around a confederacy of autonomous communes. The reason why is that the citizen would thus excert more influence.

[RGacky3]

Athenian Democracy was great, if you were a free greek man, if you were a woman or a slave, and there were a lot of slaves, then screw you.

[eyedrop]

What you are talking about is called Demarchy by some people. Here are a link to an essay on it,

Demarchy (http://www.uow.edu.au/arts/sts/bmartin/pubs/95sa.html)

I think it looks like a good option to have in cooperation with direct democracy, I especially like the inherent message it tells people that important decisions are something that can be made by normal people.