International Socialists

Introduction

• representative

  Introduction

  • representative democracy - recap

  • critique of capitalism, representative democracy and the relationship between them.

  • the socialist defence of representative democracy at micro and macro levels.

  1) Social & economic context – Capitalism (recap)

  • exploitation and inequality

  • implications for democracy

  “Marx’s theory of surplus value provides a rigorous analytical foundation both for the critique of representative democracy and for explaining the empirically evident unequal capacities of different categories of citizen to exert effective influence over the governance of society.”

  • right to own property, right to exploit & exert undue influence?

  • alienation

  • crisis

  2) Critique of the institutional mechanisms of representative democracy

  • ‘parliamentary swindle’

  • democracy narrowly confined to the political sphere which is constitutionally tightly circumscribed.

  • political rather than social definition of democracy

  • extension of democracy from political to social and economic spheres.

  • the pluralist model & its critique

  • ineffectiveness of:

  - elections (infrequent; no right of recall, limited choice)

  -interest groups (business dominance)

  - media (business & state dominance)

  - parties (parliamentary wings dominate)

  - parliament (executive dominance).

  • (indirect) rule of business, bureaucratic and political elites / capitalist class is politically dominant.

  • under-representation of workers, women and Maori.

  • liberal democratic states favour capitalists, biased against workers, etc.

  • opposed to alienation of power from labouring citizens.

  • support civil liberties - but these should be real and substantive (e.g., freedom of speech).

  • extensive BUT limited & passive nature of citizenship

  • direct participation is preferable to indirect representation.

  3) The relationship between capitalism and representative democracy

  • capitalism undermines substantive democracy

  • capitalism is inconsistent with the democratization of the economic and social spheres.

  • capitalism is unstable, prone to recurrent crises, and is unsustainable – socially economically and environmentally in the historical long term.

  • revolution & democracy – towards socialist democracy?

  • historical mission of capitalism