Democracy Definitions concepts and classifications Ideologies Democracy or

Democracy Definitions, concepts and classifications

Ideologies • Democracy or the Free Market? • Communism: Stalinism, Revisionism, Eurocommunism or Marxism? • Islam: Sunni, Shia, Shariat or Secular? • Anti-colonialism, Neo-colonialism • Feminism • Trotskyism, Anarchism and terrorism

What is Democracy? • • Regular, contested elections Alternation of Governments Rule of Law freedoms: speech, association press, etc. pluralism/polycentrism/civil society Privacy Separation of powers/checks and balances

Important events • Death of Socrates: Plato blames democracy [399 BC] • The Roman Republic [SPQR] • Anglo-saxon and Viking ideas of warrior community [Dark Ages] • Magna Carta 1215 • Glorious Revolution 1688 • American Revolution 1776 • French Revolution 1789

“Modern” Events • • Chartists and 6 demands: Universal Suffrage [well, male] Equal electoral districts Payment for MPs Abolition of property qual. For MPs Vote by ballot Annual parliaments

Even more modern events • • Struggle for decolonisation Russian revolution 1917 Chinese protracted revolution Globalisation United Nations European Union Collapse of Communism and Westphalian settlement • Idea of Universal Human rights

What sort of democracy? • • Participative People’s Democracy Representative Liberal Free market? Eurocommunist? Totalitarian /Rousseau-style General will Fabian one-party

Models of Democracy • • • British American French Asian Islamic

Variables • • • Electoral system and party system monarchy or republic uni- or bi-cameral fusion of executive and legislature separation of powers President and prime minister: 4 th or 5 th Rep • ministers in or out of Assembly

Choosing a system 1: legislature and executive • • Presidential or parliamentary? British model? US model? French 4 th Republic? French 5 th Republic? Other European? Asian?

Choosing 2: electoral system • PR or first past the post? • Constituency size: whole country, German model or multi-member? • Qualification for representation: what proportion of electorate? • How do we want to fix the result? CPs thought single-member constituencies would benefit them. Turned out differently.

Choosing 3: Presidents • • Direct or indirect election? How much power? Relationship with Prime Minister Can Prexy dissolve Assembly?

The Tyranny of the Market W[h]ither the Nation-state?

Marx [or was it Engels? ] • “The state will wither away” • Was this the state as “executive committee of the bourgeoisie”? • Or as an instrument of class oppression? • Or did he really mean what anarchists mean?

Globalisation • Are we moving to a single global market? • Does that mean forget national and regional markets? • And does that demand global governance, rather than regional or national?

Would Marx agree with Friedman and Hayek? • Capitalism is supposed to create the conditions necessary for socialism • The revolution is an international one • So capitalism must presumably create an international state for the proletariat to overthrow. • “Man creates his own history but in conditions not of his own choosing” • So F and H may be friends of Karl!

Friedrich Hayek • • Austrian, 1899 -1992 Chicago after 1950. Previously at LSE Anti-Keynesian/ free market economist Law Legislation and Liberty 3 vols 1973 -9 Keith Joseph gave a copy to all civil servants in DTI when he became sec of state in 1979

Milton Friedman • • • New Yorker 1912 Theoretical Economist Monetarist founder of “Chicago School” Governments should not intervene in the workings of the market • Studies in the Quantity Theory of Money

The Market • Hayek • recognises the existence of market failure • specifically to provide collective goods • Friedman • that the market can be relied upon • to generate not only the best world but the best of all possible worlds

Fairness and Justice • Hayek: the market • Friedman and therefore • the distribtion of inequality is income found in a justifiable capitalist society is • individuals do not just deserve their lot • in that it reflects the • market can be cruel different talents and unfair: hard abilities and efforts work and bright of the people in that ideas not always society rewarded • money is not a

The State • Hayek • state has a role in licensing • quality must be guaranteed • services must be contracted out • Friedman • State should be kept to a minimum • market will guarantee quality • services must be privatised

Issues • • • Pollution Can government prevent deforestation? The safety-net caveat emptor? How do you form an army? Or: if the state no longer has a monopoly of coercive force, is it a state?

In conclusion • Is the nation state withering away? • Is Marx about to make a come-back? • Is there an era of regional superstates around the corner, or a world state? • Or is the term “state” redundant? • “The executive committee of the global corporations” what will it look like and what power will it have?