Thursday, May 05, 2005

Democracy is a Process

Democracy is a process that involves several components, all of which are necessary, but none of which is sufficient. This is how it works.

The majority of people,
Over time,
Given access to enough accurate information,
And the ability to participate in a free and open debate,
Reach decisions that will,
-Benefit the whole of society,
-Preserve liberty,
-Extend equality,
-Protect freedom, and
-Defend democracy.

Not all the time, and sometimes there are periods of backsliding--or much worse. And if the information is fraudulent propaganda, then the decisions are skewed. But if you don’t think this process works, then you don’t really believe in a democracy.

Democracy scares me sometimes, but that’s OK. Democracy is messy and chaotic.

The title of a recent book by sociologist Francesca Polletta on progressive social movements was titled Freedom is an Endless Meeting. That’s the joke line from 60’s civil rights activists who turned around the slogan “Freedom is an Endless Struggle”—probably while sitting in a meeting.

The point is, democracy takes work, and it is participatory or it is not real democracy.

That’s what this blog is going to talk about.

posted by Chip Berlet @ 10:51 AM

About Me

Name: Chip Berlet

Location: Boston, Massachusetts, United States

As a teenager in the 1960s, I joined the civil rights movement and helped run a church-based coffee house in suburban New Jersey. Later I was active in the movement against the Vietnam War. I dropped out of college to work in the underground and alternative press and served on the board of the Underground Press Syndicate. In recent years I have written scholarly articles on right-wing social movements, apocalypticism, and neofascism. I am on the board of the National Committee Against Repressive Legislation and on the advisory board of the Center for Millennial Studies.

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