Quote:
|
Think a better description would be participatory democracy.
|
PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY
Direct (participatory) democracy - A form of democracy in which most, or all, of the citizenry participate directly by either holding office or making policy.
The twentieth- century re-incarnation of the ancient Greek ideal of government by the people (demos), participatory democracy is direct democracy with enthusiasm.
In practice this meant that all debates and decisions took place in face to face meetings of the whole group.
Direct democracy was especially import in the American New left, the French and British student Movements, and the anti-nuclear and peace movements of the 1960s and 1970s. It was also a feature of the ecological and community movements that survived into the 1980s and 1990s. The difficulty with participatory democracy is a practical one, that it binds individuals to the group through their active involvement in all decisions.
By general agreement, participatory democracy can be effective only in groups with 500 or fewer active members. Direct participatory demos in government can only be possible by allowing the people to participate in government through their elected representatives,
which is called Representative Democracy.