[lbo-talk] Re: consensus-direct-representative democracy etc

[Dennis Perrin]

> There's a strange conception of democracy you often hear among direct
> action types. We need more of it - less mediated, less blunted, more
> spontaneous. But it seems to apply only to a small, preselected
> population. Democracy in the U.S. could mean more theocracy and fewer
> civil liberties. But surely the direct democrats don't want that. So
> how can this direct democracy or consensus model apply to any
> population with significantly divergent interests or beliefs?
>
> Doug

Good question. Funny -- your statement about "direct" democracy potentially
leading to theocracy, fascism, chaos, whatever, echoes elite views about the
unwashed mob, though I know you don't share the elite viewpoint.
Nevertheless, they are similar fears. The main prob, as I see it, is
educating or persuading those who are not committed to even mild democratic
politics but who are under the state thumb like everyone else. There might
be points of convergence, but can there be mutual awakenings leading to
unified action?

DP