What's the point of Council Comunism?

[Havet]

I remmember a while back some communists arguing with me that a pure direct democratic society is not only utopic, but harmful; that we necessarily need someone to 'represent' ourselves, although that representation must, in itself, have no power.

i ask, how can we have representatives without power?

why do we need representatives to establish a system over 90 years old (council communism), when we have so much new technology that renders the need for physical and collective representation moot?

Thanks for replying

[RichardAWilson]

Revolutionary Representative Federal Republic: The transition from Capitalism to Socialism requires the continued functioning and administration of the State.

As such, representatives will be needed as direct democracy is infeasible on a larger scale. Marx believed such an approach should resemble the Paris Commune:

The Right-to-Recall Elected Officials, Proportional Representation, Universal Suffrage, Referendums and Petitions, Public-Financing of Campaigns, Equal Airtime Access, Fair and Open Political Debates.

[Havet]

Revolutionary Representative Federal Republic: The transition from Capitalism to Socialism requires the continued functioning and administration of the State.

As such, representatives will be needed as direct democracy is infeasible on a larger scale. Marx believed such an approach should resemble the Paris Commune:

So your point seems to be: 'it makes sense because Marx said so'?

Why cant you update what Marx said to XXI century technology? Why must it necessarily require all that structure?

[RichardAWilson]

Representatives will be needed as direct democracy is infeasible on a larger scale. What technology are you implying would allow the operation of a direct democratic system on such a large scale as the United States?

[Kotze]

The Right-to-Recall Elected Officials, Proportional Representation

How would you combine these two?

[Havet]

Representatives will be needed as direct democracy is infeasible on a larger scale. What technology are you implying would allow the operation of a direct democratic system on such a large scale as the United States?

I didnt talk about using it on a national level, but at a regional level its certainly feasible. And then each regional decision can be aggregated to a national decision.

as for the technology, most of these projects has the potential to do just that:

http://www.metagovernment.org/wiki/Active_projects

[Rafiq]

Personally, for me, Council Communism is just kind of a tool for the workers to organize themselves. I identify as an "Insurectionary Councilist" yet have total objections to libertarianism and Anarchism.

[RichardAWilson]

A Mixed Proportional Representation System combined with the Right-to-Recall. You can Wiki the difference between Proportional and Mixed Proportional.

[Ocean Seal]

Personally, for me, Council Communism is just kind of a tool for the workers to organize themselves. I identify as an "Insurectionary Councilist" yet have total objections to libertarianism and Anarchism.

I'm confused on this part. Aren't council communists supposed to be libertarian socialists?

[Rafiq]

I'm confused on this part. Aren't council communists supposed to be libertarian socialists?

Yeah, they are. I see it as more of a tool, or a process , than a state of affairs that is to be achieved.

I can identify as a council communist, however, I completely oppose the moralistic criticism of authoritarian policies of the bolsheviks(That of which has been put forth by some council communists, and most anarchists), and adhere to criticism of the Bolsheviks from a completely materialist perspective.

[Yazman]

Representatives will be needed as direct democracy is infeasible on a larger scale. What technology are you implying would allow the operation of a direct democratic system on such a large scale as the United States?

Electronic voting machines already exist and are deployed on a national scale in many countries, including the USA. It isn't much of a leap to simply move this to either a national intranet like many countries have, accessible from a desktop computer in your home, or to the internet itself.

A lot of countries are already moving their services to the internet. The Australian government even allows tax returns to be completed and submitted entirely via the internet, as well as allowing quite a lot of other services online.

Direct Democracy is not infeasible on a larger scale at all. I would argue that it is totally feasible.