[lbo-talk] 'Democrazy'

[Joseph Wanzala]

I think you are grossly overreacting. it is clear that democracy is in 
serious crisis and Treanor offers a cogent critique that I think is good 
starting point. It's not as though Treanor has the power to issue an edict 
to end democracy, he offers only some thoughts. I don't think you have to 
worry about democracy going anywhere anytime soon, indeed, it is on the 
ascendent at least nominally - but it's state of crisis only continues to 
deepen.

"Democracy, the modern world's holy cow, is in crisis ... every kind of 
outrage is being committed in the name of democracy. It has become little 
more than a hollow word, a pretty shell, emptied of all content or meaning," 
she said.

"Democracy is the Free World's whore, willing to dress up, dress down, 
willing to satisfy a whole range of tastes, available to be used and abused 
at will."

Free elections, a free press and an independent judiciary mean little when 
the free market means they are on sale to the highest bidder, (Arundhati 
Roy) said.

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0518-03.htm


>From: "Michael Dawson" <mdawson at pdx.edu>
>Reply-To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org
>To: <lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org>
>Subject: Re: [lbo-talk] 'Democrazy'
>Date: Sun, 19 Oct 2003 15:12:37 -0700
>
>Talk about suicidally stupid!  After a mere 250 years of trying, this clown
>wants to give up on democracy?  On behalf of all those who've died for it,
>I'm outraged.
>
>A few points:
>1. Chomsky has not, does not, and will not condone shit like this.
>Recognizing that democracy isn't perfect doesn't constitute an argument
>against it.
>
>2. Democracy homogenizes people?  That's an incredibly dubious contention,
>which also appears to entirely ignore the homogenizing impact of corporate
>capitalism.
>
>3. If democracy is spent, then it must have been tried to its fullest
>possible extent.  But when has anybody ever governed a modern economy with
>democracy?  Outside the Mondragon region of Spain, that's never been tried.
>
>4. None of this guy's claims for what abolishing democracy would 
>(apparently
>automatically) do hold water.  How would canning democracy progressively
>undermine the nation-state?  That kind of talk makes me wonder what
>substances this writer ingests/injects before he sits down to work.  As for
>getting rid of Haider, I'd trust Haider more than any savior telling me 
>he's
>about to abolish democracy.  Holy crap!
>
>
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