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WORLDWIDE DIRECT DEMOCRACY (WDD) Vol. 6 (No. 2) June 2004
Parliamentarism and Democracy (cont.) The most inveterate opponents of DD often put forward this argument: DD is impossible and undesirable because it is incompatible with the Constitution. According to them, we should consider the Constitution as a sort of holy script, the ultimate authority for all political discussions. This is nonsense. So far, all constitutions have been written and approved by a handful of party politicians whose chief purpose was to preserve and strengthen their own power interests. Therefore, after a vague sentence like "all power emanates from the people", they have always put the tools for exercising power into the hands of big political parties. This means that all existing constitutions lack democratic legitimacy. To acquire such legitimacy, they have to be compiled by true representatives of the people, submitted to public debate, and then approved by a national referendum. Everybody will probably agree that politics is an activity supposed to promote the participants´ interests. In modern societies, any analytic eye can discern four types of interests: 1.Common interests of all: well functioning society, stability, sustainable growth, healthy environment, internal and external security, peace, high-level education and research, rational use of social and other resources, transparence, efficiency of taxation, etc. 2.Group Interests, i.e. interests shared by a certain category of citizens as opposed to the interests of other categories. In modern societies, this concept is clearly more accurate than Marx´ class interests, as shown in a lucid and convincing way e.g. by Mr.George Sagi in his New Democracy. 3.The Oligarchies´ Power Interests, especially the interest of preserving the system on which they subsist. In this endeavour, they are served by their lackeys - most journalists, "opinion-builders", and social scientists. Especially mainstream political "science" is hardly more than apologetic essay-writing. (But there are brilliant exceptions - the participants of our two international conferences and some others.) The sycophantic media ("gate-keepers") block most of the criticism, thereby fostering the impression that what is happening, even if regrettable, is natural and unavoidable because the perpetrators are "democracies". Due to the development of communication technology, increasingly accessible to the general public, this attitude is undergoing a healthy change, though. 4.Vested Interests (big corporations, the military-industrial complex, churches, unions, bureaucracies, and the like) practicing political corruption through their lobbies. Surprisingly, in the public debate, the existence of vested interests and their lobbies seems to be largely accepted as a natural component of the "democratic " system. In elections, people mostly vote on politicians and parties supposed to promote their group interests. But in this way, politicians also receive the "mandate" to handle the common interests of all; the citizens are excluded, except on some rare and manipulated occasions. The consequences can be disastrous - involvement in wars, over-exploitation of natural resources, environmental pollution, devastation of the poor countries´ economic systems, thereby fostering terrorism that increasingly comes back like a boomerang to hit westerners who, by remaining passive and short-sighted, cannot be exonerated from their share of guilt. What we strive for is a system that, while preserving the promotion of group interests by political parties, insists on the promotion of the common interests of all outside this biased party-political system, by DD processes of various types - basically by a combination of citizen deliberation and referenda. The promotion of group interests will then only be allowed within this broader DD framework. Naturally, at this stage of development, nobody can exactly describe this future system of Semi-direct Democracy, although several such models have been put forward and published in this Newsletter. These models can only be considered as suggestions on the basis of which the citizens themselves are likely, sooner or later, to build, by trial and error, a viable and flexible system responding to the needs of a changing socio-political development. (to be continued) DIRECT DEMOCRACY IN CZECH REPUBLIC A bit of history: In the late Middle Ages, Western Europe was ravaged by the Hundred Years War between England and France, and by the Black Death. Central and Eastern Europe was dominated by the German Empire. The Emperor happened to also be Czech king. The imperial power was supported by an immensely corrupt Catholic Church. In England, a theologist launched a vehement criticism against the prelates. His name was John Wycliffe (1330-84). He advocated a return to the pristine religious purity based on the sole authority of the Bible. His teaching found an enthusiastic supporter in Jan Huss, headmaster of the University of Prague. The reconstructed Bethlehem Chapel, where Huss´ burning words once resounded, is still open for visitors. Huss was summoned to appear at the Council, then gathered at Constance, to explain - and revoke - his "heresy". The Emperor's safe-conduct turned out to be worthless. Huss was arrested and, since he refused to deny the obvious truth of his teaching, he was burned alive (1415). A storm of indignation swept over the Czech countries. In 1419, the crew broke into the new Town Hall of Prague, threw the councilors down from the windows, and put them to death. A commemorative tablet still reminds the passers-by of this event. (This was the first defenestration. The second defenestration, less violent, took place in 1618 at the Prague's Castle. It unleashed the 30 Years War.) A Hussite army, consisting mostly of peasants, was formed. The most famous general was Jan Zizka of Trocnov. He never lost a battle, not even after he lost his eyes. He invented the tank (a peasant wagon filled with stones, immensely effective against heavily armed, but clumsy (knights). His equestrian statue dominates the panorama of Prague. It happened that the imperial troops fled in horror when hearing at a distance the Hussites´ war song. Within the Hussite movement, for the first time since antiquity, emerging inside an organization there were people advocating abolition of monarchy and establishment of democracy. The "Hussite king" - Jirik of Podiebrady (1444-1471) - was the first ruler ever who proposed the establishment of an international organization (Christian princes against the Turks). The idea was only realized almost 500 years later (The League of Nations and then the UNO). The best known reformers - Luther, Calvin, Zwingli - all came forward some hundred years after Wycliffe and Huss. In contemporary Czech Republic, the situation is similar: A few angry and vocal intellectuals opposing a deeply corrupt, party-based mock-democracy, in the midst of an equally angry but so far passive and silent majority. In spite of general disillusionment, passivity and cynicism, the Hussite pioneering and rebellious spirit is not extinct, though. It is here that the first International DD Conference took place (Pribram 1998), the first international DD Newsletter began to be published, and the first draft of a Citizen´s Constitution was compiled and presented for the public (see the picture). In 2002, several Czech citizen organizations were invited by the Foreign Office to participate at a meeting with the then Spanish Foreign Secretary. Surprisingly, the MDD was one of them. Dr.Valach asked the Minister: "What is your opinion of Direct Democracy?" Typically, the Minister avoided a clear answer. Instead, he began to babble. He vaguely suggested a counter-question: "Where do those subversive elements get money from?" Well, we don't get any money from anybody. We have only our ideas, our commitment - and empty pockets. But so had the Hussites. Dr.Milan Valach, Ph.D., a University teacher, THE key DD personality in Czech Republic, author of The World at a Watershed - one of the classics of DD literature, co-author of Direct Democracy for Czech Republic (see above) and author of many articles, both printed and electronic. Spokesperson of the Movement for Direct Democracy MDD; active even internationally. Mr.Miroslav Kolar, (together with Mr.Vladimir Rott, Switzerland, and Mr.Jaroslav Langer, Germany) the most prominent Czech DD personality living abroad (Canada since 1983). Studied theoretical physics, worked as research associate at various universities, including two years in Japan, and is now involved in scientific-technical programming. (More information can be found at http://www.mkolar.org/CV/.)Quote: "How I came to support DD? After observing the life here in North America for more than 10 years, I became sort of disillusioned, came to the conclusion, that there is no real democracy here either, that in principle, the Western system is not much different from the "real socialism" of the Eastern Europe that I fled from. At that time, I even had no information about the I&R, and direct voting on the local level, implemented in Switzerland. Then during I think my second trip to Prague after 1990, I bought your books 2084 and Democracy - Direct or Indirect? ... After coming back to Canada, I searched the web for all sites I could discover about DD, sent the results to you. This, I think, helped you to organize the 1st conference on DD. And then I started my DD Meeting place. Then, first through Internet, I met George Sagi, who was living close to me. I have been helping him with his PDDA" .... It is worth mentioning that Mr.Kolar can speak Russian. His travels to Siberia are opening a terra incognita for us. He has also studied Indian cultures and their impact on the Constitution of the USA. Updated links concerning participatory
budgeting in Albacete and elsewhere can be found at Submission on 8 April about Digital Governance Initiative - governance models in developing countries: http://www.digitalgovernance.org An English translation of the Czech Citizens´
Constitution Draft: Submission on 31 May: http://democracy.mkolar.org/MessBoard.html - renovation of the Democracy 2.0 Organization Site: http://www.democracy2.org USA 4 March, information from Mr.John Suhr: "Instead of merely talking about DD, why not observe it in action? Check out www.uniontrib.com for today's results of yesterday's primary election here in California. .... So, you see - DD is already at work. Yes, it can be improved and should. It is certainly not sufficient, but better than no DD at all. The improvement could and should be E - DD: taking the entire I&R process online." 14 April,
information from Mr.M.Kolar (link): 10 May, information from Mr.M.Kolar: "Announcement: Ideas for Development of the Active Commons Charter - United States. ... Involving the brainshare and participation of many active citizens. ... Go to the link provided to get more details and please feel free to offer your suggestions. http://discuss.democracy2.org/viewtopic.php?t=84 Steve Magruder, director 15 May,
information from Mr.Miroslav Kolar. (link) Correction: In the previous issue of this Newsletter, Mr.George Sagi´s e-mail address was stated incorrectly. The correct address is: sage2509@earthlink.net 9 May,
information from Mr.Miroslav Kolar: Newly added links to Global Outlook Issue Number Seven (www.globalresearch.ca) A new American currency (courtesy of Global
Outlook) (Yes, we are at war against oligarchy, everywhere and all the time, regardless of ideology. JP) By the way, I believe that this century will not be called "American", but "Chinese", or possibly "The Century of the Far East". (JP) 28 May, information from Mr.Juan Carlos Garcia Madronal sent to several DD addresses: "We are a group of Spanish democrats that, as part of an ongoing effort to compile the experiences of Direct Democracy around the world, has prepared a report on the current situation of Direct Democracy in Latin America. You can download it from www.geocities.com/jcgmadronal/ . During the preparation of that report, we have found a very promising landscape for direct democracy in the continent. Similarly as what happened in other geographical areas, the movement towards greater direct democratic rights in Latin America has experienced an important increase in the last years. For instance, the number of nationwide referenda organized in the continent in the last 30 years has duplicated itself each decade. Similarly, in the last years of the past century, several direct democratic tools have been introduced in the constitutions of many countries, as Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, and Paraguay. Where those tools were already in place, as in Uruguay, it has also been experienced an increase in the number of abrogative and constitutional referenda held in the last two decades. During the preparation of the report, we have contacted several Latin American organizations and individuals who are discussing or supporting the extension of direct democracy in the continent. We believe that those groups and individuals are the germ of a direct democratic network of activists in the continent. We would like to know your opinion about the report, and we will deeply appreciate your comments and suggestions to improve it. We will keep you updated about any further development related to the extension of direct democracy in Latin America." The report is undoubtedly very valuable and important. It is the first time we have received such a detailed and well documented analysis of the situation in that geographical area. The report (called La democracia directa en America Latina; in Spanish) is a Latin American equivalent of Mr. Dane Waters´ Initiative and Referendum Almanac, only shorter - about 20 pages. Like the Almanac, it deals with I&R only, and for good reason. While attention, so far, has been focused on the participative budgeting taking place in Porto Alegre, so far, our network has hardly got any information about I&R existing in the continent. The author divides the Latin American
countries in 4 groups: Conclusions: During the latest 20 years, we can observe a wave of constitutional reforms providing DD tools in many countries. All constitutions amended during this period have introduced certain DD mechanisms. Practical application of these mechanisms depends not only on constitutional provisions, but also on the general situation - the degree of violence haunting the society in question. Mr.Madronal concludes the report expressing a hope that Latin America will continue its development towards more DD and less violence. Needless to say, this hope is shared by all members of our network (JP) 11 May: Mr.Steve
Mathe invites us to download his revised website: 26 - 27 May, Berlin: A Conference led by Prof.Peter C.Dienel and Prof. Hans J.Lietzmann was held in Ernst-Reuter-Haus: Die Befreiung der Politik; zu langfristigen Denken. The conference was focused on a further development of the Planungszelle model which has by now become an integrated part of the German political system and is gaining ground in many other countries as well. Participants: Many prominent intellectuals and politicians. Direktdemokraterna, a DD political party that has existed in Sweden for several years, has been renamed Aktiv Demokrati. The party grows all the time. Website: www.direktdemokraterna.com It is a party of a new type: "We have no common political standpoint. All issues are treated directly. If we elect representatives, they are persons who have a similar outlook to ours." The party is based on the internet, but holds now and then a conference where members can meet face to face. "Our vision is to establish a direct link between the citizens´ everyday life and the decisions made in the Swedish Parliament, so that the decisions are well anchored in their social context and the economic premises of ordinary people. Many members have nothing against representation as such, but believe that the options offered by the existing parties are too inadequate. In our society, representativity can be managed more directly by the people if the system we have in mind is put in place. As we see it, a dubious representative can simply be directly recalled and replaced. Those who inform the Parliament of citizen opinion about individual issues are called by us button pressers. Their only role is to bring information of Party decisions. We also plan to introduce multiple voting - the possibility of choice among several alternatives, e.g. when preparing a new budget. In this way only, genuine democracy can be implemented. Among other things, this will counteract "tactical voting" and other distortions of democracy." The Planning Cells model, amply reported in this Newsletter, is ideally suited for the implementation of the above vision. (JP) Initiative & Referendum Institute Europe in cooperation with Federal Chancellery, Bern have published a DVD named Direct Democracy in Switzerland (not for sale). It contains 8 films with specific examples of direct democracy in action. Extensive interactive background information that can be viewed with DVD-compatible computers (double click on the file "index.html"). 27 March, a letter from Mr.Josep LLuís Ortega (excerpts): "... I feel there is ... a necessity to create some means of convergence among this plethora of separate efforts. The basic ideas for promoting such convergence need not be contrived anew... I would like to present you several projects I have been thinking about and preparing for some time, and to invite you to consider your possible personal implication and collaboration, or the collaboration of your group or organization. These are all projects which can be developed with small economic and technical pains, and that, with some personal implication and commitment, could definitely promote the argued convergence. These projects rest on the current availability of three very low cost technical systems to create and maintain them. I could perhaps set up some of them, other are already available, and perhaps more technically competent people could offer better alternatives, and also hosting and maintenance. Thus, I suggest the possibility of creating:
There are two other considerations to be made:
It is perhaps necessary to clarify the different levels of involvement of people contributing to this network of projects. There is clearly a need of a comparatively small group of between 3/4 and 10/12 people committed as "editorial board", but the whole project only makes sense if more and more people can be expected to join and contribute with their own personal materials, information, articles, comments, etc. .................... 3 May, a letter by Mr.Bernard Clayson brought a report on the idea put forward by Mr.Tom Atlee, the Co-Intelligence Institute, basically the same idea as that advocated in the above message by Mr.Josep LLuís Ortega: "I am excited to share with you a website where several of us have been working on what may prove to be one of the world's most powerful resources for supporting a culture of dialogue and wise democracy. We're hoping you'll join us soon, even for just a bit. This website is a participatory empowerment workplace for all of us who believe in the importance and power of dialogue and deliberation - process of the people, by the people and for the people. On it! You can explore the web's most comprehensive list of participatory practices. This list has group processes, approaches to community dialogue, technical tools for collaboration, participatory organizational methods, democratic innovations, and more. Already almost two hundred practices have been identified .... and about half of them have been described and referenced in some detail. More are being added all the time. There is no limit to the participatory practices that can be listed here. You can actually add to this list and describe
any practices that you know about. ..... You can engage with others to work on dialogue and deliberation programs or shared inquiries. .The amazing site I'm talking about is the Participatory Practices section of the National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation (NCDD) Wiki: http://www.wiki-thataway.org/. What´s a Wiki? A Wiki is a website where anyone can change anything on any page AND easily create new pages that are automatically linked to all other relevant pages in the website. Wikis were developed by computer programmers to work on computer programs together. Now they are used by businesses, scholars, activist groups, and hundreds of others to do collaborative work. Perhaps the most remarkable Wiki so far is http://www.wikipedia.org - a grassroots, self-organized, co-created encyclopedia with 200,000 entries in English and 300.000 entries in almost 50 other languages. Check it out. (I´ve helped develop the entry on "Wisdom", for example.) ..... I invite you to visit it. Just click on http://www.wiki-thataway.org/ . You'll notice lots of compound words which are called WikiWords or WikiLinks. They look like that because that's all you need to type to create a new page. If you type "DialogueProject", the Wiki program instantly creates a new blank page entitled "DialogueProject" and make what you typed ("DialogueProject") into an active link to that page. You can than go to that page and write whatever you want regarding the Dialogue Project. Later, any time anyone types "DialogueProject" on another Wiki page, that WikiWord automatically becomes an active link to the page you created on that subject. So start your own exploration at http://www.wiki-thataway.org/
by clicking on "ParticipatoryPracticies". That will take you to There you'll see the list of tools and methods I was raving about above ........" The above two letters express ideas similar to Mr.B.Clayson´s Phoenix and to some extent even Dr.M.Nordfors´ Vivarto. Perhaps Mr.Ortega, Mr.Clayson, and Mr.Atlee could establish some sort of cooperation? (JP) 3 April, a letter from Mr.Bernard Clayson: "I have been looking for a way for the public to monitor what our governments (all levels), politicians, bureaucrats etc. are doing. A simple criteria that everyone can use, including the media when publishing political news. The simplest one that I can think of is the ´10 Commandments´; the question is, what would the 10(?) commandments be? Summary of my thoughts to date.
Never forget, the impression is more important than the reality in politics, and if it caught the publics´ interest, someone may do the same with the legal system. Let's go back a few steps.
(Comment: The next issue of this Newsletter will bring a reflexion concerning the above discussion of the problem of a Citizens´ Constitution. JP) There are three sayings I use as guides: KISS (Keep it Simple Stupid). ´You don't have to re-invent the wheel just because you have a puncture´, and 'It is accepted better, if it is remembered'. I am not adverse to a bit of lateral thinking i.e. taking ideas that work in one sphere and using them in totally unrelated situations. So b) at this point it is beneficial to be reminded of the validity of the following - <quote> when it comes to verbiage, less often is more: Pythagorean theorem: 24 words; The Lord´s Prayer: 66 words. Archimedes´s Principle: 67 words. The 10 Commandments 179 words. Lincoln´s Gettysburg address: 286 words; The U.S. Declaration of Independence: 1,300 words; The U.S. Government regulations on the sale of cabbage: 26,911 words. .... <end quote> c) Presentation. 26 May, a letter from Mr.George Kokkas: "Dear DD colleagues, although we had personally the promise of Mr.Geoge Papandreu for a Referendum for the Constitution of Europe last June at the European Summit in Chalkidike, he has done nothing about it, even if he was Foreign Minister until February and responsible for this issue as our representative. Then he lost the election as a leader of PASOK, loosing also the chance to influence DD in Greece at present. Regrettably, although PASOK tried to use DD methods for the Europarliament elections of next June, there was absolutely no transparency and the electronic voting didn´t influence actually the results of the candidates for posts as Greek Eurodelegates. So the truth is that George Papandreu is not "dissolving his Socialist Party into ´direct democracy´, as Wayne Hall misinforms you, but into what he calls "Participative Democracy", maybe far from the authentic principles of our Movement! In any way it is very good that the DD issues are important now, before the Olympics in Greece. Therefore we decided to promote authentically the DD Movement here by participating in the June election for the Europarliament under the slogan: European Sympolitia Direct Democracy, as an independent Movement of local Authorities, concerned citizens and NGOs for Radical Changes in European Societies and political culture. Please, assist us in our new struggle!" 1 June, a letter from Mr. John Abercrombie: "I have founded and run a website called PowerUp Australia (www.powerup.org.au). It is an organisation dedicated to direct democracy or e-democracy for Australian citizens. My website is basically designed to be a bridge between public opinion and our politicians. The content of our discussion forums is also archived by the National Library of Australia where it is digitally recorded and preserved My idea was to present current political issues directly to the public and offer them the opportunity to express themselves along with many other concerned citizens and then have their views submitted to our politicians as part of a collective effort. The idea being that the more people that act together, the harder it would be for the dominant political parties to ignore us. The big goal of PowerUp would be to form its own political party based on direct democracy. In Australia, a disproportionate amount of power rests in the hands of minority parties that often have the "balance of power" between our two dominant political parties. If PowerUp were able to win enough seats to secure this "balance of power" then Australian citizens that wish to contribute would effectively have the right to pass or reject any bills that the two major parties are at odds on. This would be done by offering citizens the chance to vote on the proposed laws via the internet. The resulting vote would be how PowerUp would vote in parliament. This would be an extraordinary increase in the power that people have over politicians in this country." (It is surely an encouragement for the Swedish Active Democrats to see that people at the opposite end of the Globe are thinking precisely like themselves! JP) 16 May, a letter from Dr.Doug Everingham: "I agree that Switzerland sets several good examples for would-be democratizers: proportional representation even in cabinet, citizens´ petition initiated referendums, subsidiarity etc. But more democratic structures exist. One which drew on the example of Quakers started in Holland and is extending to several organisations: Sociocracy, promoted by the Sociocratic Center, http://www.sociocracy.biz Other examples are in Dr. Shann Turnbull´s 2002 book "A new Way to Govern: Organisations and society after Enron" http://members.optusnet.com.au/~sturnbull/index.html 5 April: A report from IRI Europe (Dr.Bruno Kaufmann): Taiwan 2004 Referendum Assessment. Abstract: "On March 20, 2004, Taiwan held its first two national referendums. The ballots were called by the President, under Art. 17 of the newly-introduced Referendum Act. In the shadow of a highly contested presidential election, the proposed subjects of the referendums (defence and international relations with China) only stimulated a limited public debate. In addition, both the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the government of Mainland China contested the legality of the referendum and appealed to the citizens to boycott the ballots. As a result, they did not reach the required 50% turnout quorum and were declared invalid. Nonetheless, this first practice of national referendums offers interesting perspectives, as both the Referendum Act and the conduct of initiatives and referendums can be improved in the future." 11 June,
information from Mr.Heiko Dittmer: "Please find hereafter two
new IRI Europe publications available: Direct Democracy
in Europe - A Comprehensive Reference Guide to the Initiative and Referendum
Process in Europe: The European Constitution - Bringing in the
People: 05 March,
a letter from Mrs.Kathrin Keil, Democracy International
(excerpt): At present, more than 270 Organisations from
all over Europe support our demands. You can find a list here: 17 April, a letter from Mr.Bernard Clayson, commenting upon a text by Mr.Ashley Mote (excerpt): "So far, this is the best example of why we should say NO that I have seen. (that does presume that we will get the opportunity to say NO) p.s. it also contains some interesting contributions to the 10 Commandments. Subject: EU constitution is deeply flawed. The latest issue of the Zeitschrift für direkte Demokratie (Heft Nummer 62, 16.Jahrgang) is mostly dedicated to the ERC - European Referendum Campaign. Headline: Die EU-Verfassunf und die Demokratie 17 April, a letter from Mr.John Bunzl: "Friends, I am delighted to advise you that Nobel Laureate and Foreign Minister of East Timor, Dr. Jose Ramos-Horta, has lent his endorsement and support to the SP campaign: ´Dear Dr John Bunzl, I am pleased to confirm to you my interest in endorsing the SP campaign and to be as active in its support as I can. Please keep me informed on any initiatives the SP might have in the future. Best wishes, Jose Ramos-Horta´" Mr.Bunzl has recently published a seminal article called Evolutionary Biology and the Simultaneous Policy: Vision-Logic for the Next Stage in our Evolutionary Future Quote: "Evolutionary biologists are increasingly questioning the Darwinist view of evolution which describes it largely in terms of competition and natural selection in favour of a "post-Darwinist" stance that more properly recognises the crucial role of co-operation. But since major transitions from competition to co-operation occur only at certain critical and short-lived points of evolutionary crisis, it is perhaps unsurprising that co-operation's significant role has hitherto been under-valuated and under-explored. Today, as humanity increasingly faces a critical point of crisis in terms of our survival on planet Earth, it is essential that light now be shed on how co-operation has worked in evolution, and how it can be made to work now if we are to have a sustainable future." The above lines show the deep affinity between Simultaneous Policy and DD. Direct Democracy, too, aims at co-operation for the benefit of society as a whole, while party-based oligarchies subsist on group conflicts and even foment such conflicts to justify their own continued existence. In the long run, these efforts are doomed to failure. (JP) |
