Thought-Factory.net Philosophical Conversations Public Opinion philosophy.com Junk for code
hegel
"When philosophy paints its grey in grey then has a shape of life grown old. By philosophy's grey in grey it cannot be rejuvenated but only understood. The owl of Minerva spreads its wings only with the falling of dusk." -- G.W.F. Hegel, 'Preface', Philosophy of Right.
RECENT ENTRIES
SEARCH
ARCHIVES
Library
Links - weblogs
Links - Political Rationalities
Links - Resources: Philosophy
Public Discussion
Resources
Cafe Philosophy
Philosophy Centres
Links - Resources: Other
Links - Web Connections
Other
www.thought-factory.net
'Constant revolutionizing of production, uninterrupted disturbance of all social conditions, everlasting uncertainity and agitation distinquish the bourgeois epoch from all earlier ones ... All that is solid melts into air, all that is holy is profaned.' Marx

democratizing democracy « Previous | |Next »
January 16, 2006

A distinction is often drawn between the protective and the developmental versions of liberal democracy. This distinction is useful because it is often argued that a liberal protective democracy does not imply any further democractizing of society, precisely because in this model democracy is instituted to protect other values and political ends that have a higher priority. An example is wealth creation and a strong economy under a neo-liberal mode of governance.

This article by Craig Brown in Contretemps quotes Geoff Stokes as saying that:

The main internal aim and justification of theories of protective democracy is to protect individual citizens from arbitrary rule and oppression by government, as well as from infringements upon individual liberty from other citizens. Democracy is an institutional instrument, based upon actual or implied contracts, for protecting the legal and political rights of individuals. In addition, all are united by their understanding of democracy as a procedure for choosing governments, and a preference for a minimal role for citizen participation.

Democratization is effectively subordinated to the constraints that the capitalist market imposes on social and economic reproduction within a nation state. Hence all state ALP governments in Australia are governed by the need to maintain a triple-A rating. They are fiscally conservative.

It is the kind of liberal democracy that we live with in Australia. democracy as a procedure for choosing which section of of the political class forms government and it ensures a minimal role for citizens.

| Posted by Gary Sauer-Thompson at 3:49 PM | | Comments (0)
Comments