----- Original Message -----
To: wddm@world-wide-democracy.net
Sent: Sunday, May 27, 2007 8:00 AM
Subject: Re: [WDDM] Truer Democracy
Albano wrote:
"The citizens who give themselves representatives renounce to
do themselves the laws; they have no particular will to impose. If they
dictated their wills, France will be no more a Representatif State, it
will be a democratic state.
Hear hear! Thanks so much Albano for your contribution. I happen to
agree with you wholeheartedly. But many, as we have seen, do not.
I think we must recognize that there are a range of views in our group as
to the meaning of democracy, and how much we imagine is practically possible
to achieve. Some of us believe that only real participatory democracy
can achieve the promise of democracy, and some of us believe that is
unworkable or unachievable, and that representative systems can be made to
work.
We've had considerable back and forth debate on these issues, and I for
one have reached the conclusion that we will never agree, at least not with
the current context of dialog. Speaking again for myself, I am not in favor of
any voting approach that would aim to settle this issue and lead to an
official "WDDM view" that excludes any of us.
If we really believe in democracy, then I think we need to learn to deal
with diverse views, even in our own midst. I'd like to see our charter revised
-- it is incomplete in any case with no mission statement -- so that we
articulate the vision of a democratic society, without trying to be
prescriptive of its exact form. We all want an effective, functional,
democratic system, but do we really have the experience, knowledge, and wisdom
to define it concretely at this moment? Have not wiser people (your favorite
hero here, Jefferson or whoever) tried and failed?
It seems to me we would be doing a service to the larger community if we
'hold the focus' of seeking a democratic society, and relate to other
organizations from that perspective. What can they contribute to an
understanding or a practice of democracy? What can we share with them? How can
we collaborate? I see us as declaring a mission: to seek out a path to
democracy. Not enough people are taking that on as a challenge. We do not need
also to pretend to know exactly where the path may lead.
best regards,
richard