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(2/2) Re: To create a wide coalition or to change the political class?
Germà PELAYO
Friday, 30 May 2003 04:20:17 +0200
(The tranlslation of this message has been edited by the author)
Hello again,
I find that I can no longer follow your points in my answer since I have already mixed some things, so I will continue by wherever is possible :-) :
Instead of wanting to create an image of ideological neutrality that would be quickly criticized and discredited, a movement for a WP and world democracy should be defined by its capacity to create proposals or solutions to the different problems of the world, solutions created collectively. As I have mentioned it doesn't matter if such proposals don't have political legitimacy, because if they gain the strength of the people supporting them, this is the real legitimacy.
Concerning your intervention on the topic of Iraq, I find it very appropriate and it is pity that it have not produced such debate that you proposed. I believe that the problem of great part of nationalistic discussion is not the nationalism in itself but the * competitivism *, in this case among nations. I believe that a real * patriot * is who recognizes openly the mistakes of his or her country and government, and supports a constructive criticism, as well as in a couple or in a family even if hard truths are necessary, at least from time to time: -).
On the elitism: what is more useful for you, an active citizen supporting a form of democracy which promotes the education to activism among their neighbors, or 99 passive citizens voting to the typical politician who can deceive them because he has the money for it? Who would be really supported by these 99 citizens, in equality of media support, and enough means and time to meditate?
I find a contradiction to accuse of elitism something that benefit to everybody and to consider more democratic a way that is unable to question the power so to have a open debate (the political classes supported on the global economic elites) and that is accepting the hoax of the electoral game. I think also that there is too many people that can see this. Just look the volume of abstentions, and think also that among those voting, most of them continue to believe that there are some politicians less bad than others, but they will probably accept an offer of changing such formal democracy for another more participative.
So, my proposal has to do with enlarging the active people's circle, and yours, has to do with make voting the passive citizens in favor of a new global political class. The problem is that a global political class, risk to have an antidemocratic behavior, without a real global * civil society * behind preceding it and limiting it. (You call it as you want if you don't like the name civil society, I agree that it shouldn't be idealized, but neither to accuse it for the lack of attractive of any federal globalist project).
At the end of your message you are saying that we must be simple promoters of * one * idea (the stars are mine obviously :-))... I believe that we should be simple promoters of plural and diverse alternatives to the only idea of the liberal thought. As well as they are many other social movements. Our specificity is to propose a concrete political tool, the WP that, along with other, in economics, education, etc. (and independently of the timeline), should help to that goal. This don't mean * to represent * anybody but to include their fights as well as it will be fine also that they included global democracy and WP in their programs. We should be close to those that have understood that the world should change if he want survive, and not close to a political class that is hearing the citizenship only one day every several years.
That doesn't mean not to use the political class when necessary, and I repeat * to use * because is to the politicians to serve the society. That only means that we shouldn't say or to insinuate that we grant them a priori a legitimacy that they don't merit.
Best regards,
Germà
WP21 Alliance Forum on a World Parliament for the 21st Century
E-mail : world-parl@forums.alliance21.org
Fax 1 717 264 5036
Information, inscriptions, désinscriptions: germa@alliance21.org
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